Less than Legends, More than Myths
by BlackShadowKnight
Summary: Life's not easy. Everyone knows that. But this is just plain ridiculous. Brendan, May, Jake and Sara not only train to become the best, but also to stop five criminal Teams, dark pasts and sinister plots of old. Latter-on Hoennshipping. My first FanFic.
1. An Unexpected and Perhaps Crazy Start

**Disclamer:** I do not own Pokémon, Pokémon ideas or anything of sorts. Those belong to Nintendo, Game Freak, and whoever else is their rightful owner. However, some new characters are mine, as well as some new additions to the game's plot. This applies to this and all subsequent chapters.

This is my first FanFic ever! Yay!

Before you start, let me warn you that my writing skills suck, so don't be surprised if you find grammatical errors or anything like that.

Also, Jake is 12 years old, while May and Brendan are 11.

The travelling times between cities are pretty much random. They just last long enough for me to write everything I needed to write during them, so some incompatibilities are also likely to occur. If you see anything like that, please tell me about it in a review or something!

But that's enough blabbering for now. Enjoy!

* * *

_**Less than Legend, More than Myth**_

**Chapter 1: An Unexpected and Perhaps Crazy Start**

Morning rose over the little town. A few Taillows began to sing with a horrible voice, scaring any nearby life-form, Zigzagoons woke up and ran around aimlessly, Poochyenas growled at their reflection in the water and then ran away, scared. The earth slowly returned to consciousness after it's slumber, much to many people's dismay. But today was somewhat different. Even though humans and the not-very-bright Pokémon around there didn't notice, today was going to be a day filled with wonder, excitement, laughs, pain, sorrow, some more laughs, a bit of romance here and there, some 'aww' scenes, some adventure and action, a bit of comic relief and some good old laws-of-physics-defying occurrences.

Anyway, as I was saying, morning rose over the little village. All over town, every single people woke up and cursed life for making them wake up. Well, almost every single people. Three didn't; one cursed life for another reason, the second cursed life for a number of reasons, and the third just wasn't in the mood to curse life.

The first was a girl called May Maple. She was currently in stuffed in the back of a moving truck, much to her dismay.

"_Argh, why do I have to be stuffed in here anyway?" _the girl thought angrily. She got up and started to pound on the door, but it was shut. _"First the moving, then all the problems, then my mother's obsession with little boring towns, and now this! Argh, this is it! If I don't get outta here right now, I'll-"_

The girl did not have the chance to finish her sentence, because at that time the truck stopped suddenly and she was thrown out through the door, which conveniently opened in the nick of time and allowed her to pass. A few seconds later, she found herself lying head-first in mud.

"_Just great. Just freaking great!"_

"Humn, do you need help?" asked a voice somewhere in front of her. "Or are you having fun?"

"Oh yeah. I'm having a great time." the girl answered, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "What do you think!?"

"Well, normally, I'd say you fell out of this truck, but seeing as you're a girl and girls completely elude me, I'm not quite sure."

"Are you saying girls are crazy?" asked May, getting up. She looked at the voice and noticed it belonged to a boy about her age. He wore a black and red T-shirt and long black pants. He had a green headband with a Pokeball design. Strangely, his hair was white.

"_No_, I'm saying girls are weird." the boy said.

"What's the difference?"

"A lot. When someone is crazy, he is completely nuts, whereas a person who is weird merely thinks in a different and sometimes confusing way."

"Humn, okay…"

"So, did you fell of the truck or are you just lying in the mud for some reason?"

"Of course I'm not lying in the mud! For your information, I happen to be moving in today!"

"Oh? And what made you move into a town like Littleroot? I mean, it sure is fun to watch the grass grow, especially on sunny days, but there aren't any shops anywhere near here."

"Urgh, it was my mother's idea. I told her we should have gone to Lilycove City!"

"Humn, if you don't mind me asking, and even if you do, where are you from?"

"Me? I'm from Goldenrod City back in Johto."

"Did I hear someone say Johto?" came a new voice.

May and the boy turned around to see a new boy appear. He was taller than both by at least four inches, with a very muscular build. He had a red hat with Pokeball pattern covering his brown hair. He wore jean pants with running shoes, a red T-shirt with black sleeves and had a yellow backpack.

"Here we go again…" muttered the first boy, rolling his eyes.

"You come from Johto? From _Johto?_ _Johto?_" the new boy asked.

"Humn, yeah…" answered May, sweat-dropping.

"Tsk tsk tsk…" the boy said, shaking his head slowly. "So young…"

"Hey! What's wrong with Johto?" said May, getting angry.

"What's _right _with it, you mean. People from Johto are a bunch of crooks and thieves."

"No they're not! Where did you get that idea!?" May was getting very angry.

"Oh, from T.V., magazines, newspapers, real-life experience…"

"Take that back!"

"…radio, books, travelling trainers, teachers…"

"TAKE THAT BACK!" shouted May as she jumped on the newcomer. The first boy gasped, but May didn't hear him. She was too angry. How dared this boy speak trash of her proud nation? She would make him apologize! The boy she was going to attack just raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

Unfortunately for her, in her fury, she forgot that the boy was a good deal bigger than her. Coincidentally, he was incredibly strong too, and easily overpowered her. In a few seconds, May was lying on the ground once again, with the boy calmly sitting on top of her.

"Jake! Cut that off!" said the first boy, trying (unsuccessfully) to get the bigger boy to move.

"Ah, Brendan, so naïve…" Jake said, getting up. He then extended a hand towards May, and pretty much lifted her off the ground.

"Urgh…" said the girl, still a bit dizzy. "Why are there flying Bellsprout flying around?"

"What's a Bellsprout?" asked the one called Brendan.

"I guess it's something that doesn't fly." said Jake, shrugging.

"Great going, Jake. You make her even weirder.

"Hey!" shouted May. She had recovered enough to hear that last statement.

"Well, look who's up! Had a nice daze?" said Brendan. "Anyway, I don't think introductions were made. The name's Brendan Birch, or Brendan the Supreme King and Lord of All for short. This here is Jake, but you can call him He-Who-Poops-A-Lot if you want."

"Hahaha, hilarious…" said Jake, rolling his eyes.

"Nice to meet ya Brendan." said May with a smile. "I'm May Maple."

"Nice to meet ya." replied Brendan with a smile of his own.

"Same here." said Jake.

"Go burn in hell." replied May simply.

"Hahaha! You owe me five bucks!" said Brendan, laughing.

"Humph…" puffed Jake, reaching into his wallet and drawing out five Pokebucks.

"What?" asked May, confused.

"It's a bet we made." explained Brendan, recovering from his laughter. "I bet Jake couldn't go a day without someone saying that to him."

"And I almost won too." said Jake grimly. "Two more hours and I would be five Pokebucks richer. Thanks a lot."

"Ah, no problem. Glad I could help." said May, with an innocent smile.

"So, _Johtian_." asked Jake. "What brings you to Littleroot Town in the first place? Aside from the marvelous fun of seeing the grass grow, of course."

"Well, my father got elected as a Gym Leader here in Hoenn, so we moved in. Since my mother just _loves_ small towns, specially old ones, she chose this one."

"Cool! So you're the daughter of a Gym Leader! Do you have any Pokémon yet? Big, mean lean killing machines?" asked Brendan.

"What? Course not! I don't have Pokémon. With all the moving and promotions and school, I didn't have a chance to get one yet…"

"Humn, guys? Sorry to break your beautiful chat, but it seems someone is getting his liver eaten down the road." interrupted Jake, pointing down the road from town.

"What? I don't hear a thing." said May, not convinced.

"Well, that's because you're deaf. Maybe you should consider cleaning your ears once in a while." replied Jake.

"For your information, I clean my ears very well on a daily basis, which is more than can be said about you!"

"Hey, someone could be hurt down there." interrupted Brendan. "Imagine if someone broke his arms, his legs, three ribs, his hip and a wrist. Or even worse, if a girl broke a fingernail."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked May threateningly.

"Nothing, I swear!" answered Brendan, raising his arms. "I'm just saying girls are more important than anything else. Hehe…"

"Yeah right." grumbled May. "Let's just go already."

The three moved down the road. Soon enough, May and Brendan could hear someone screaming. They broke into a run, and soon found a rather overweight man on top a tree, screaming with all his lungs. On the ground were four small wolf-like creatures and a big black wolf, all of them growling at the tree.

"DAD!" shouted Brendan. May gasped in surprise.

"Brendan! Jake! Random girl! Thank Arceus!" the man shouted from the tree. "HELP ME!"

"How, you idiot? We don't have any Pokémon!" shouted back May, angry at being called 'Random girl'.

"On the ground, near the bushes! There is a bag! Inside, there are Pokeballs! USE THEM!"

"Just hold on, Dad!" shouted Brendan as he reached for the bag. He opened and found three Pokeballs inside. He took on for himself and looked at May.

"May! Come on!" he said, seeing as May wasn't moving.

"Not until he apologizes for calling me 'Random girl'." the girl answered firmly.

"MAY!"

"FINE! I'll get a goddam ball! But I expect a reward."

"MAY!!"

"OKAY! Let's just do this."

The two trainers pressed the small white button in the balls, causing them to open and release beam of energy. These beams continued until they reached the ground, where they become solid creatures, a small red chicken and a blue, rubbery dog-like beast.

"Torchic!" the chicken cried happily.

"Mudkip!" the beast copied.

"Wait! Where's Jake?" asked May, noticing there was one guy missing.

"There. Don't worry, he can take care of himself." said Brendan, pointing at something.

May followed his finger and found herself looking at Jake, who was taunting the big wolf.

"Oh, think you're so high and might, big doggy? Well, let's face it, you're a CAT! A STINKING CAT!" the boy shouted. The large wolf immediately looked at him, teeth bared, and jump to attack. Jake skillfully dodged the attack.

"Ah, wanna do this the hard way, humn? Fine! COME ON!" the boy yelled, jumping at the wolf and griping his neck. May blinked in disbelief.

"COME ON, MAY!" shouted Brendan, pulling her back to her own battle. The four puppies were advancing on them.

"Mudkip, use Water Gun!" commanded Brendan. Mudkip opened his mouth and shot a blast of cold water at the closest dog, causing him to be thrown backwards.

"You too, Torchic!" ordered May. The chicken looked at her quizzically, not obeying.

"MAY! TORCHIC'S A FIRE TYPE! HOW DO YOU FREAKING EXPECT HIM TO USE WATER GUN!?" shouted Brendan.

"HEY! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT STUPID POKEMON IS WHICH IS THIS STUPID PLACE!?" shouted back May.

"I DON'T FREAKING KNOW, BUT DON'T JUST STAND THERE AND DO SOMETHING!"

In the battlefield, the puppies that Mudkip had blasted away had recovered from the attack and were now fighting back. The four of them alternated to keep a chain of attacks, one after the other, leaving no chance for Mudkip and Torchic to fight back. Meanwhile, Jake was carrying the wolf on his shoulders. Suddenly, he dropped to one knee, and the impact was felt heavily by the wolf. With a powerful shout, the boy threw the wolf over his head and watched as it fell on the ground, with barely enough strength to get up. Jake then jumped on him once again, landing with his elbow on the wolf's back like a wrestler. Once again, May blinked in disbelief.

"MAY!"

"OKAY! I'M GOING! Torchic, use Ember!" Torchic shot a barrage of small fireballs at the closest puppy, burning him and making him roll on the ground.

"Mudkip, Water Gun again!" Mudkip released another bolt of water, causing two nearby puppies to fly in the air and land near a tree. Soon, the big wolf fell on top of them, and Jake appeared, a another-job-well-done expression on his face.

"Hey there guys! Missed me?" he asked.

"You wish!" replied Brendan. "Mudkip, dodge that and use Tackle!"

"Go burn in hell!" answered May. "Torchic, jump and use Scratch!"

The battled raged on. Torchic and Mudkip skillfully dodged the incoming attacks and replied with attacks of their own time after time, and soon enough all four puppies were out. The two friendly Pokémon were exhausted after such a tough fight, so May and Brendan recalled them. All the three friends walked towards Prof. Birch.

"Dad!" said Brendan, hugging his father.

"My child! I'm so glad you found me when you did!" the professor replied.

"You know, I think you'd make quite a nice Pokémon food. You know, with the fat and all." said May, rudely.

"MAY!" shouted Brendan.

"What!? Even you can't deny your father is a overweight!"

"Is this because he called you 'Random girl'?

"Maybe… or maybe it is because you annoy me!"

"Excuse me? I _annoy_ you? How lame is that!"

Prof. Birch just looked from one to another without understanding. He then set his gaze upon Jake, and sneaked away as quietly as possible, avoiding the argument.

"So, I guess the wrestling classes paid off after all, humn?" the man said.

"Sure did. You owe me fifteen bucks."

"Oh, not so fast. I clearly heard Random Girl telling you to go to hell, so we're even."

"Crap!"

At that time, their chat was interrupted by a shout. They turned around quickly and saw Brendan lying in the ground, raising his arms over his head to protect himself as much as he could from May, who was kicking him with all her might.

"I AM NOT FAT!" the girl screamed, unleashing another kick at the helpless boy at her feet. "TAKE THAT BACK!"

"OUCH! STOP THAT!" the boy shouted back. "I'M SORRY! YOU'RE NOT FAT! NOW STOP!"

May stopped kicking the boy and walked away, leaving Brendan on the ground. She walked back to where Jake and Prof. Birch stood.

"So, having fun?" asked Jake, in a tone that May couldn't decide if it was sarcasm or not.

"Yeah. Best freaking day of my life." she replied.

"Humn, Random Girl, may I remind you-" started Prof. Birch, but soon stopped when he saw May's stare. "Humn… hehe…" he trailed off nervously.

"Don't mind her, she's just a bit brute." said Jake.

"Excuse me? I thought I heard you saying I was brute."

"Well, you thought right."

"Why, you little vermin…"

"You're the one to speak…"

"TAKE THAT BACK!"

Once again, Prof. Birch silently sneaked away, towards his son. Brendan had just got up, clutching his stomach tightly. They both looked over to May and Jake having their argument.

"So, sonny, are you okay?" the professor asked.

"Yep. I was just attacked by a crazy girl with _serious_ anger issues. Happens all the time." Brendan answered.

"Letl… mwe... gwo!" shouted May, her face dug in mud.

"Not 'til you calm down." Jake answered, calmly sitting on top of the struggling girl.

"Olkway!"

The boy got up, allowing May to breathe again. The girl gasped for breath, then proceeded to clean the mud out of her face. When she was done, she shot Jake a dark glare, which the boy promptly ignored.

"So, kids." said Prof. Birch, making sure not to call May 'Random Girl' again. "Would you guys come to my lab for a minute? There's something I need to give you."

"All of us?" asked Jake. "Even Random Girl there?" He was liking the nickname, specially seeing May clench her hands into fists and tighten her jaw, trying to contain her anger. She was starting to learn that attacking him wasn't such a good idea.

"Yes, _all_ of you." answered the Professor quickly, not wanting another argument to take place.

"What is it Dad? You're not thinking of _that_, are you?" asked Brendan, not developing any more than that.

"Indeed, I am, my kid. Now seems like a time as good as any." Prof. Birch replied.

"But-"

"No buts! I'm doing it and that's that!"

"You should think more about this!"

"Shut up! You're not my father!"

May blinked in disbelief at the strange show going on in front of her eyes. Jake saw her expression and let out a short laugh before saying "Don't worry about it, Random Girl. They always do that. Except on Thursdays. Never on Thursdays. Not after _it_ happened…"

After that, May decided she was crazy. That was the only possible explanation. Or maybe it was all just a nightmare. Or maybe both. But it had to be _something_. This couldn't be happening, _really_ happening. She considered running away and tackling a tree to see if she would wake up, but decided it wasn't worth it. Jake took a sideways glance at her, as they were both watching Brendan and his father argue about the mysterious _that_, and soon a sad smile came over his face.

"Don't you dare talk about Mom like that!" shouted Brendan. His father stuck his tongue at him, but quickly hid it. Not quickly enough, though.

"Did you just stick your tongue at me? That it, mister! No desert for you today!"

"You're no fun!" shouted Prof. Birch.

May took her own sideways glance at Jake and noticed his expression. "What?" she asked.

"Oh? Nothing." answered the boy. "It just that this is quite a sad story. It may seem silly, but there is a much deeper reason behind it. Sometimes, I feel sorry for Brendan." Jake said all of that in a sincere and sad voice, and May couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or just messing with her.

"Really? What happened?" the girl asked, getting more interested. But Jake just shook his head.

"If Brendan feels like you should know it, then know it you shall." was all that he said, and refused to elaborate any more than that.

After minutes of calm discussion between Brendan and his father, and a slightly more heated one between Jake and May (which, as always, ended up with May having her face dug in mud and Jake sitting on top of her), the four humans reached an agreement and headed back to Littleroot Town. As soon as they reached the small city, they went directly to the Lab, which May hadn't seen at first. In fact, it barely looked like a lab from the outside. It was just a big house. They entered it and soon found themselves in an office, staring at a table with three Pokéballs on it.

"So, kids." said Prof. Birch. He seemed to be back for his normal self. "On this table are three Pokéballs. Each one of them contains a starting Pokémon. The three starters are Torchic, Mudkip and Treecko. May and Brendan, you seem to handle your Pokémon very well, and they seem to bond quickly with you. That's why I want you to have them."

"Are you sure about this, Dad?" asked Brendan. "I mean, it was a _huuuuge_ bother to get these things. I mean, canyons, deserts and waterfalls kind of bother. Not to mentio-"

"As much as I enjoy taking something of value from you, I can't just take a Pokémon like this!" interrupted May. She was feeling extremely excited from the idea of finally having her own journey, but she knew it wouldn't be right to accept.

"It's fine. This Pokéballs were for beginner trainers, but who gives a damn? They'll just have to be happy with a Poochyena." said the professor with a childish grin.

"Dad!"

"Oh, do you want me to take your Pokémon back?"

"…"

"That's what I thought. Well, so that's about all I wanted to say. Oh, I almost forgot. Here are your Pokédexes and Pokéballs. I'm pretty confident that you know what those are." he looked around the kids, seeing them nod. "So, this is the beginning of an epic journey for each one of you. I hope you are ready for your quest!"

After some good-byes and awkward words, May and Jake ran and walked back to a house and a farm, respectively. Brendan stayed with his father at the lab. As soon as May got home, she explained what had happened to her mother, in quick and excited words. Then she ran upstairs to her room, packed her stuff and went back down again. All of this in record time. Less than two and a half hours.

"So, sweetie, you're going on your quest, aren't you?" asked her mother, tears on her eyes. May immediately felt bad for leaving her all alone, with her father at the gym and all.

"I don't _have _to…" answered May quietly. She really wanted to go, but she couldn't just _abandon_ her mother.

"No. It's something you always dreamed of… You must go after your dreams, my daughter. But remember to call me sometime…"

"Don't worry Mom… I will…"

Turning around, May could _feel_ more than hear her mother sob. With tears of her own, the girl walked towards the door and left, without looking back.

* * *

So, this is the end of the first chapter. I know it sucks, but I promise you that it will get better latter on. And I already have some action planned for the second chapter…

Anyways, thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated, of course, so don't forget to drop your word.

If you see any mistakes around, please report them to me so I can correct them. But beware: I am a really new member at FanFiction, so if you send me a private message I can't promise you I'll know how to read it. Kinda lame, huh?

Once again, thank you all! And don't forget to keep on reading! The next chapter will be out soon enough (I hope…)

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	2. Fatalities of Fate

Hi there, everyone.

Here it is! The second chapter of LtL, MtM. I hope you all enjoy it! But first, let me tell you a few things.

First, this chapter will have some important stuff in it, including several things that will be _very_ important for the rest of the story.

Second, pay close attention to the different Teams and their goals. It will play an important role further on...

Third, remember to R&R!

So, without further delay, I present to you the second chapter!

* * *

_**Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter 2: Fatalities of Fate**

"You okay?" asked Brendan as soon as May left her house. He was standing in front of the building as if he had been spying on someone.

"Brendan? What are you doing here?" May asked surprised.

"Nothing." answered the boy, shrugging. "I was coming here to see if you were still around, since I'm leaving now, and I happened to see you talking to your mother through the window." They were both silent for a moment, before Brendan continued. "So, are you okay? It must be hard for both of you…"

"I'm fine, thanks. It must be hard for you too."

"Actually, no. I haven't seen my mother in years and my father… well, you've met my father."

May laughed at his sentence. Then his first words dawned on her. "What do you mean? Does your mother lives in another region or something?"

Brendan was silent for a moment, before replying. "Yes… you could say that…"

May knew he wasn't telling the truth, at least not _all_ the truth, but decided to drop it, especially after remembering Jake's words sooner that day. They both kept on walking for a long time in silence, heading down the road that led out of Littleroot Town. After what seemed like hours, the sun was starting to set, and May couldn't take it anymore.

"So!" she almost shouted, eager to break the silence. "Were do you think Jake is by now?"

Brendan smiled at her words. "Knowing him, He-Who-Poops-A-Lot is still back on his farm. Probably wrestling against some poor Pokémon or something."

"As a matter of fact," said an unexpected voice behind them, causing the travelers to jump. They quickly turned around and saw none other than Jake standing there. "that problem has already been taken proper care of."

"Dude, you gotta stop being so brute. Try reading a book. You know, the little rectangular thing filled with randomly sprayed ink." said Brendan, recuperating quickly. May wondered how well the boys knew each other. They never seemed really surprised about this kind of unexpected appearences.

"I tried once, but it spat on me. Ever since, I'd rather stay away from those things you call 'books'." the bigger boy replied. May frowned, confused. "And you guys really should be less shy. I mean, a bit of respectful silence is nice, but one and a half hour? You've gotta be kidding me."

"Hey! Were you following us?" asked May, suspicious.

"Course." Jake replied simply.

"Ahm… but… you shouldn't do that!"

"Okay."

"Humn… okay… glad that's settled."

"Equally."

Both kids stared at each other for a bit, May with an unsure frown and Jake with an innocent stare. Brendan finally broke in.

"So, He-Who-Poops-A-Lot, how are your folks at the farm?" he asked.

"Just fine, my dear friend." answered Jake.

"Hey, is that actually a nickname?" asked May. "I thought you guys were just messing around. How did you get such a nickname?"

"Do you really want to know?" calmly answered Jake. May thought about the question for a moment, then shivered.

"No thanks." she replied.

They continued with that nice and comforting chat until the sun dropped over the horizon and they found themselves in the dark. Luckily, they were near a clearing, and they were quick to set camp. Well, quick to try, at least.

"Got… to… hell!" May shouted, struggling against the tent that absolutely refused to stand up. Finally she gave up, and walked away. Strangely, the tent settled into position when she did this. The girl turned around and slowly approached the tent. As soon as she was within arm's reach, it dropped to the ground again.

"You have _gotta_ be kidding me!" May shouted, kicking the tent with all her might. Finally she walked away, leaving the unsettled and probably ruined tent on the ground. She noticed with a proud grin that it didn't move.

"You know, that was mine." said Brendan, looking at the fight between human and tent while Jake tried to light a fire with some wood they had found.

"Well, it didn't work." May replied angrily.

"It's a tent!"

"So what!? It was laughing at me!"

"It's a _tent_!"

"Crap!" cursed Jake as he cut himself with one of the stones he was trying to light the fire with. "I give up! Scorch, help me out!"

May watched with interest as Jake released his Pokémon from a Pokéball. It turned out to be a bipedal red lizard-like creature with a small flame at the end of his tail. He was about half a meter tall, arriving around Jake's waist.

"Scorch, could you help me light this wood with your Ember attack?" the Pokémon's trainer asked. The Charmander gave a delighted squeak and shot small fireballs at the wood, which promptly burst into flames.

"Thanks a lot, buddy. You can stay out for a while if you want to."

"What is that?" the girl asked, consulting her Pokédex. She found out that Scorch was a Charmander, a Pokémon from Kanto. They were fire types. After a few moments messing with her Pokédex, the girl put the machine back. "Pretty cool."

"Yep. Working at the farm sure has its advantages."

"Char char!"

They finished setting up camp, or as much as they could without a tent. Brendan refused to talk to May until the girl had paid back for the damage, and the girl refused to pay until the tent apologized. The two kids slept inside their sleeping bags on opposite sides of the clearing, while Jake observed everything with an amused expression before going to sleep.

--XXXXX--

As dawn broke over the horizon, six figures slept peacefully. Ok, maybe not peacefully, but they definitely slept. Across the clearing, May slept inside her sleeping bag and Brendan once had slept inside his, but through the course of the night had rolled out and was now lying on the ground, almost squishing his Mudkip. Jake slept in the middle, near the extinct fire. Scorch was curled up in a ball near his feet. Both were snoring loudly enough to scare away all the Pokémon in a three mile radius.

Little did the kids know that fate was going to play a trick on them that day. Of course, it was just doing that because it was absolutely bored and because it really enjoyed messing around with humans, but a trick it still was.

Brendan, being outside his bag, was the first to wake up as soon as a fat drop of water hit his nose. He opened his eyes groggily, and saw black thunder clouds on the skies above. Glancing at his watch, he realized he had forgotten the useful instrument at his house. He let out a small curse and got up.

May was the second human to wake up, because another drop hit Torchic and the small creature jumped high in the air, screeching and clawing everything she could touch. In seconds, May was up too, and didn't look very happy.

The two friends looked at each other and then at Jake, who was still asleep. The rain worsened, and a small downpour fell on the travelers. May recalled her Torchic while Brendan's Mudkip rolled in the mud, giggling and squeaking. Jake and Scorch still slept, the latter subconsciously putting his tail inside the destroyed tent for protection. The entire thing soon ignited in flames, causing Brendan to gasp and try to save it. When it was clear that that was impossible, he just began shouting at the Charmander.

"Damn you lizard! That was my tent! I paid for that with my own money, for Mew's sake! Okay, maybe not _my_ money, but I still had to work to get it! Three days pick pocketing in a fair for nothing! Just great. Just freaking great!"

May watched everything with an amused expression on her face. After Brendan stopped shouting and fell to the ground, hugging his knees, Jake and Scorch still hadn't woken up. The girl decided that this was the perfect chance for a revenge, and sneaked towards the sleeping creatures. She might as well have stomped like a Rhyhorn and screamed at the top of her lungs, the boy still wouldn't have woken up.

When she was almost within arm's reach, a drop of rain hit Scorch's nose, causing him to instinctively shoot out an Ember attack, which conveniently hit May's leg.

"OUCH!" the girl screamed, hugging the wounded leg. The attack hadn't been very strong and was even weaker because of the rain, but it still hurt. "GET UP YOU DAMN LIZARD! I AM SOOO GONNA KILL YOU! I'M GONNA CUT YOU PIECE BY PIECE AND THEN I'LL BOIL YOUR INTESTINES AND…"

Brendan watched in amazement as May continued to shout threats to the sleeping salamander. The curses only got worse from that point, and soon Brendan was wondering who had taught May such a vocabulary. But then she started to calm down and the threats went back to just being mean.

"…COOKIES AND PIES AND CAKES, SOME FLOWERS AND A PIDGEY!" May finished, then fell to the ground, panting.

Finally, Scorch stirred. He turned his back towards screaming girl, and went back to sleep. May's blood began to boil again, and she started screaming again. This time, it lasted for almost ten minutes, until Jake opened a sleepy eye and gazed at May. With a groan, he got up and stretched.

"What are you doing?" he asked, still sleepy.

"I AM GOING TO KILL THAT LIZARD OF YOURS! I SWEAR I AM! I WILL DROWN HIM, THEN I WILL…I WILL… LAUGH AT HIM! HAHAHAHA!" the girl shouted back, then burst into a maniacal laugh. Scorch woke up too, seeing the weird lady, and hid behind his trainer. Even Jake stepped back. After a few minutes like that, May recomposed herself.

"Humn… what was _that_?" asked Brendan. May noticed everyone, human and Pokémon alike, were starting at her.

"Humn… temporary insanity?" the girl answered looking at her shoes, embarrassed.

"Suuuure…"

They packed up camp and began to walk again, Jake, Brendan, Scorch, Torchic and Mudkip in front while May was alone in the rear. Every time she tried to approach the others, they would break into a run, and she'd be left behind again. It was seriously getting on her nerves.

"Oh come on!" she shouted, after yet another unsuccessful run. "It's not fun anymore!"

"It's not about fun. It's about self-preservation." said Jake, dead serious.

"Yeah. I learned that you can be quite an old Skarmory when you're mad. The hard way." added Brendan. His arms still hurt from when May had kicked him, the day before.

"I'm sorry!" she yelled, subconsciously thinking about what a Skarmory was. "I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Yeah right! You punched me on the stomach, threw me on the ground, kicked me until I begged for mercy and then just walked away!"

"Okay, maybe I _did_ mean to hurt you! But you're gonna be in a lot more pain if you don't stop running away!" May was getting angry again.

"Oh crap! Old Skarmory time! Everyone, run for all that you hold dear!" shouted Brendan, and everyone broke into a run (Brendan carrying Mudkip, Jake having recalled Scorch and carrying Torchic), May in hot pursuit. Finally, after a few minutes of this, the girl dropped to the ground, exhausted. Brendan was panting heavily, while Jake was barely panting. He was used to long runs back at his farm.

"You guys are so _mean_!" shouted May, boiling with rage. "I HATE YOU!"

"I thought 'old Skarmory time' had passed." said Jake, half-questioningly.

"It did. This 'pissed off young Skarmory with anger issues' time." replied Brendan.

"Tor tor…"

"Mud!"

"Charmander char…"

"COME HERE!" yelled May, getting up and running with newfound energy. The other surprised travelers barely had time to start running themselves when May reached Brendan and started kicking him, much like the first day they met. Jake stood a few steps away, watching the show with Torchic and Mudkip.

"See? That's why you can't do what Brendan did." taught Jake. "If you're gonna piss someone off, you gotta at least be able to get away with it."

The Pokémon nodded while May turned around and once more left Brendan lying on the ground. The boy shot her a dark glance and stuck out his tongue at her, but lickly (for Brendan) the girl didn't see. May turned towards Jake, ready to jump at him. The boy only stared at her with an innocent smile. Finally, the girl decided that it wouldn't be a good idea to attack Jake, at least not right now. She'd have to get her revenge later. Ah, and Mew, what a revenge that'd be…

"It's so not fair." complained Brendan for the thousand time. The three friends were walking once more, barely ten minutes away from Oldale Town, and this time they were standing side by side, their Pokémon in front of them. "How come she hits me and you get away without a scratch?"

"Old friend, you know the answer to that question as well as I do." replied Jake, rolling his eyes.

"Sure do. But still. It's not fair."

"I. Swear. To. Mew." growled May. She was fighting against every urge in her body that told her to beat the hell out of the white haired boy until he fainted. And believe me, there were a lot of those. "If you don't shut your freaking mouth right this instant, I'm gonna shut it for you. Permanently."

Brendan looked as if he was about to say something, but thought better and closed his mouth. The friends walked the rest of the way in silence, only broke by the chatting Pokémon.

--XXXXX--

"**My trainer sooooo kicked your trainer's butt!" **laughed Torchic, for the thousand time.

"**I told you, she did not kick Brendan's butt!" **replied an angry and annoyed Mudkip.

"**Of course not. It was more like she kicked all the rest!" **Torchic replied to the reply, still laughing.

"**Mud, I gotta give it to Torch on this one. May really **_**did**_** beat the hell outta Brendan. We all clearly saw what transpired, dude."**said Scorch, stepping in. It was funny how he had the same way of talking as his trainer; nice, fancy words mixed with slangs.

"**Oh yeah, join the girl's side. How noble." **said Mudkip, rolling his eyes. **"Well, that proves you don't have to be a princess to have a knight-in-shining-armor."**

"**What's that supposed to mean?" ** asked Torchic, getting angry.

"**Nothing. Nothing at all."**

"**Since when do you have to be a princess to qualify as eligible to have a knight-in-shining-armor?" **asked Scorch.

"**Ever since knights became rarer."**answered Mudkip as if it was the most obvious thing in the word.

"**Hey! Don't ignore me!" **shouted Torchic.

"**Hey, hot-head, don't light your tail on fire." **said Scorch. The other Pokémon shot him a weird glance. **"What?"**

"**If you didn't know, **_**your **_**tail is on fire." **answered Mudkip, uncertainly.

"**What?" **Scorch looked at his tail as if it was the first time he saw it. His eyes went wide with shook and he started running around wildly. **"MY TAIL! MY TAIL'S ON FIRE! MY POOR TAIL! HELP! HELP! AHH!"**

Mudkip and Torchic just stared at him.

--XXXXX--

"Hey, what happened to your Charmander?" asked May. In front of the travelers, Scorch had just begun to ran around wildly.

"Dunno. Maybe he's just in the mood to run around. Happens all the time." answered Jake, barely batting an eye.

The friends finally reached Oldale Town. It was quite small, but (luckily) not as small as Littleroot Town. The buildings were all very old, and more than a few ruins were scattered around town. The only things worth seeing for a travelling trainer were the Pokémon Center (where you could heal your Pokémon and stay in a room free of charge), the Poké Mart (the largest brand of stores selling useful products such as Potions, Pokéballs and Escape Ropes) and the ruins of an ancient temple, located just outside town. May, Brendan and Jake decided to go to the Pokémon Center first, where they could rest for a bit. Jake and Brendan wanted to leave as soon as possible, but May wanted to explore the ruins. After a quick argument (and a few threats), it was May and Brendan voting for the ruins (I wonder how that happened…) and Jake wanting to leave, so democracy did its job.

After a only few minutes of rest and planning, seeing as they had done nothing else than walking, they decided to head towards the famous ruins. It was a bit after noon, so they would have a quick peek, eat something and then leave. Everybody was (at least partially) satisfied with the plans, so there wasn't any (significant) discussion. Soon enough, the three humans and three Pokémon were once again on the walk.

"So, what's so great about this place?" asked Jake, bored, as soon as they reached their destination.

May decided that it wasn't a question that deserved an answer, so she ignored the boy and looked around with curiosity. The temple was a small circular building, with a flat ceiling that was about fifteen feet off the ground and a single door, which absolutely refused to be moved with all its might. Around the main building were a few crumbled pillars and a few rock and bushes. Overall, the entire thing wasn't exactly interesting.

"What do people see in this place?" asked Brendan, more to himself than for the others.

"Duh! It's a physical link to the past! Who wouldn't like this place?" answered May. "I mean, look at the sta-"

She was interrupted by Jake, who covered her mouth with his hands and whispered a low 'shhh!'. Brendan immediately stopped formulating his next sentence and stood silent. Soon, May and Brendan heard low footsteps coming from somewhere close by. The friends looked at where the noise was coming from and saw a few people dresses in red and black outfits. Brendan and Jake quickly hid behind a big rock, the latter dragging May along.

"What happened?" she asked in an angry whisper.

"Team Magma." answered Brendan simply.

"Okay… who's Team Magma?"

"You don't know them? Everybody knows Team Magma and Team Aqua."

"Hello? Girl from Johto, got here yesterday?"

"Ah, that's right. Team Magma and Team Aqua are two criminal teams that are always doing annoying stuff. Specially to each other."

"Shh!" interrupted Jake, causing the other two to stop their whispered conversation. The Team Magma members were approaching the door of the temple. One of them, seemingly in charge, drew a long silver key from a pocket and inserted it (completely) into a small hole the door. There was a brief moment of silence, then the door grumbled and slid out of the way to the left, carrying the key with it. The Team Magma members quickly entered the temple.

"What just happened?" asked May after a moment.

"Dunno. But if Team Magma is involved, I doubt it is anything good." replied Brendan. He was about to stand up when new figures appeared. These were about a dozen, and were all dressed in a yellow uniform not unlike Team Magma's. Two of them also wore a golden belt and a cloak.

"Are those Team Aqua?" asked May, whispering once more.

"Nope. Team Aqua has a blue outfit." answered Brendan. "I don't have the slightest clue about who are these clowns."

The cloaked figures muttered what seemed to be (from the distance) a few curses, then turned to the others. One of them said something that the three kids couldn't hear, then headed inside. The last man, dressed in the normal outfit, kicked a small figure that no one had seen before, causing it to stumble forwards and into the open door. With a last look around, the man entered the hole himself.

After the last figures departed, the three travelers waited without one word for almost a minute before doing anything. Finally, Brendan broke the silence.

"Humn… guys?" he asked uncertainly. "What just happened?"

""Not a clue." answered Jake, shrugging. "But Team Magma's in there, and I doubt those yellow-clad clowns were police officers."

"That's great, but what about us?" said May. "What do _we_ do?"

"I say we enter the ruins and find out what's happening. Right here and now." proposed Jake.

"Oh yeah. That's nice. Why don't we jump in a cage filled with famished Mightyenas while we're at it?" mocked Brendan. "'Cause I'm sure it'll end up pretty much the same way."

"Why do you say that?" asked May. She was actually quite scared, but she was decided not to show it.

"Humn, hello? Three kids, one Pokémon each, traveling for two days, against more than twenty adult _criminals_. Do you seriously think we have a chance?"

"So, are you suggesting we just ignore them? Just walk away and pretend nothing ever happened?" asked Jake. "Jeez, Brendan, I thought this was the time were you'd come up with a stupid plan that _might_ just work based on your so-said 'observations', like you always did back in Littleroot. What happened? Scared?"

"I'm not scared!" replied Brendan, almost shouting. "I'm just stating the facts!"

"Sure you are. And here I thought that you were actually _braver_ than May…"

That did it. Brendan, with a shout, jumped on top of Jake and punched the bigger boy right in the jaw before he could react. May just sat there, unsure of what to do. Truth was, she had always been afraid of dark and spooky places, and the temple was conveniently just that. She knew she should stop the fight, but if Brendan won, maybe they could just walk away. The more she thought about it, more painful memories flooded her mind.

_**Flashback**_

A small six-year-old girl stood in the mouth of a dark cave. She gazed inside, but could see nothing but darkness and shadows.

"Come on, May! Or are you scared?" taunted a voice coming from the inside of the cave.

"I'm not scared!" shouted the girl in reply, but it wasn't very convincing.

"Yeah you are! Scared catty! Scared catty!"

"I'm not a scared catty! And I'll prove it!"

And, with those words, the girl entered the cave. The second she did that, she accidentally stepped on a sleeping Zubat, a bat-like Pokémon. In seconds, a bunch of those ugly creatures was chasing her around, and to make things worse, the girl realized she was lost. It was only after several minutes of wild running that that the girl managed to see daylight again.

The girl had cried for days and had to endure all her friends laughing at her for a week. She never managed to forget the experience.

_**End Flashback**_

May snapped back to her senses. In front of her, Jake and Brendan were still fighting. The girl wondered why Brendan had snapped so suddenly at Jake. They seemed like the best of friends. Or maybe even brothers. Jake's words from the day before once more rang through her mind, and she wondered if there was a deeper reason for this as well.

Finally, she decided to stop the conflict. The boys might annoy her, but she didn't want them to get hurt, much less by each other.

"Hey, guys! Stop it!" she shouted. Needless to say, she was promptly ignored.

"I said STOP IT!" she shouted even louder, jumping at the boys and trying to split them apart. That didn't work, although she _did_ manage to get punched in the stomach by Brendan (very hard), who had aimed at Jake but missed. May fell to the ground, clutching her stomach and gasping for breath.

The two boys stopped their conflict and hurried to her side. Both looked very guilty, although Jake also seemed slightly… amused.

"May! Are you okay? I'm _sooo, sooooooo_ sorry!" shouted Brendan. He had a bleeding nose and gripped his left knee tightly.

"We didn't mean to hurt you. Really." added Jake. He had a black eye and a mean bruise on his right arm.

"I'm… gonna… kill… you!" said May, although it seemed like she was trying to shout. She coughed for a bit and tried to catch her breath. "As… soon… as… I… can… breath!"

"Come on! We're sorry! It was an accident, so it wasn't our fault!" reasoned Brendan. May shot him a dark look and he shut up.

"Urgh…" the girl groaned. "Okay… whatever."

Both boys blinked in disbelief at her words, unable to believe that she would let it slip off that easily.

"You're going to do something bad to us latter, aren't you?" asked Jake, although he was already sure of the answer.

"Sure am." the girl answered with an innocent smile.

"So…" started Brendan. "What do we do?"

"I guess we should head out back to the Pokémon Center, seeing as no one wants to go inside the temple..." answered Jake, shrugging.

May was about to say something, but was stopped when the entire ground shook and the three friends heard the faint sound of a far-off explosion from inside the ruins. The boys eyes immediately shot that way, while May fell on her butt with a 'thump'.

"See? Told 'ya." said Jake. "Up to no good, as always."

"Crap. We gotta go in there and see what happened." said Brendan. He looked at May, who didn't look very happy at all. "You can stay out, if you want."

"Yeah. Let the men handle this." added Jake, with a grin. May slapped him across the cheek.

"Yeah right! Why can't we just go to the Pokémon Center and forget all about this?" she asked.

"For a number of reasons." answered Brendan. "One, because a bomb just went off inside a building filled with criminals. Two, because it is our job as trainers to help stop those guys if we can. Three, I'm scared of you and I'm hoping that the action will make sure I don't get killed by a girl. And four, I'm bored."

"He does have a valid point." said Jake. "I'm bored too."

"Argh! Well, you can go if you like, but I'm staying here!" said May, crossing her arms and looking away in a snob stance. She stood like that for a few seconds, before looking back to her friends and noticing Brendan disappear inside the building. Jake was nowhere to be found.

"Wait up! You weren't supposed to actually _go in_!" the girl shouted at the shadows. There was no response. With a growl, she stood in front of the entrance, vivid flashes of uncomfortable past experiences flashing through her mind. With a deep breath and a promise to kill both boys afterwards, May stepped into the shadows and the unknown.

* * *

I know, it's not very good. There's a lot less humor than I wanted... and a lot more drama. But hey, it get's the job done, right? But a lot of important stuff happen, so it had to happen. Maybe I'll revise this in the future.

But until then, thank you for reading and remember to R&R!

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
DarkShadowKnight

* * *


	3. The Temple of Untold Tales

Hello there, readers!

The third chapter of LtL, MtM is out. Hope you enjoy it! It is action packed and very dramatic, but it sure is interesting. And there's a lot of foreshadowing as well, so pay close attention!

And now, without further ado, the third chapter!

* * *

**_Less than Legends, More than Myths_**

**Chapter 3: The Temple of Untold Tales**

As soon as May was inside, a wave of cold air hit her face-on, causing her to shiver and utter some less-than-honorable words. She walked a bit forward, until the light of the entrance faded in the distance and the girl realized she didn't have a light if her own. With a silent curse, she advanced deeper inside the ruins, using her hands to feel the walls and guide her. Soon, she could hear the sounds of humans, although she couldn't make out what they were saying. She hurried on.

--XXXXX—

"Argh, damned sense of duty!" whispered Brendan.

"Ah, stop whining and start thinking of a way to get outta here!" Jake whispered back.

'Here' was a very bad position. Wandering through the ruins, they were now in a wide tunnel that continued on for some time before they made sharp turns to other halls. The sole source of light in the tunnel was a single torch that burned brightly at the center of the tunnel, its flimsy light making the shadows of the boys jump around as if they were alive. On one side, they could hear men screaming, and on the other, men shouting (although Brendan did say it was pretty much the same thing), leaving no doubt that the criminals were heading their way. And to make things worse, the path they had just came from had suddenly been closed off by a closing secret door.

"In case you didn't notice, there's _no way _to get out! Were in the middle, quite literally, of a conflict between two criminal organizations, we have one Pokémon each, and our only way out is through a very rude door that closes in your face!"

"Well, what about another secret door, then? If we could find one, we might just be able to get out of this un-pulverized!"

"Duh! What do you think the 'secret' in 'secret door' stands for? What makes you think we'd find one in fifteen seconds?"

"The power of positive thinking! Now start looking!"

With a small 'bff', Brendan began to help Jake at his current task, which involved frantically looking for a secret door. Needless to say, they miserably failed, and soon the criminals turned their respective corners and saw each other (and, of course, the boys). There were some bright flashes of light when Pokémon were released, and the boy's situation suddenly got a good deal worse, seeing as they were now between twenty evil Pokémon.

"Get them!" shouted one of the yellow leaders, easily recognizable by his cape.

"The only time when you get us will be when two boys and a girl with stupid names magically manage to evade from our grasp!" shouted one of the normal red guys, causing everyone to stop and look at him like he was crazy.

"What? It's not like that's ever gonna happen…" he defended himself, shrugging. Everybody shook their heads and returned their focus to the matter at hand.

"Sir, what do you do with those kids?" asked a normal yellow guy.

"Those? Tyleene, can you take care of them?" said the male yellow leader.

"No problem, Mark. But remember to leave me some of the action!" replied the female one.

She walk towards Brendan and Jake, who grasped their Pokéballs tightly. She was taller than the boys, and looked about seventeen or eighteen years old. She had curly black hair that was cut short, and was wearing the leader's yellow outfit. Behind her, using most of the space of the tunnel (since Brendan and Jake were leaning against one of the walls), the other criminal members started fighting, and soon bolts of electricity, fire and some pulsating dark stuff flew from one side to another.

"Now, don't you dare move, children." the woman said, as if she was talking to a bunch of babies. "It'll all be over soon enough…"

"You know that's pretty much an invitation for us to actually _do_ something, right?" asked Brendan, unable to contain himself.

With a laugh, the woman answered. "Then be my guest. I'd like to see you fail on your efforts!"

"Then try we will." said Jake, throwing his Pokéball in the air. "Scorch, you're up!"

"What he said!" said Brendan, releasing his own Pokémon. "Mudkip, go fight the ugly witch!"

The woman suddenly stood deadly silent and still. Slowly turning her head towards Brendan, she whispered in a dangerous voice. "What did you call me?"

"Ugly witch! Old, green, ugly witch!"

"That's IT! I'll show you insolent brat what do you get when you insult a Team Thunder Warrior! Electrike, show these kids what we're made of!"

On the battlefield, Scorch and Mudkip faced off against Tyleene's Electrike, which was a green dog with a large, somewhat flat had. His nose, the point of his tail, and the stripes going from his eyes to his ears were yellow.

"Scorch, Ember!" ordered Jake.

"Mudkip, Mud-Slap!" commanded Brendan.

"Electrike, use Thunderbolt on the blue thing!" shouted Tyleene, causing Brendan to gasp, for two reasons. First, she had ordered a super-effective hit against Mudkip. Second, she had called the latter a 'blue thing'.

Scorch opened his mouth and shot a bunch of small firebolts towards the dog. The latter dodged, and the attack continued on until it hit one of the red members, who ran around in pain and accidentally stepped on more than one innocent Pokémon. This worked out on the boys' favor, however, since Tyleene and her Electrike were distracted by the miss and the electric dog couldn't dodge Mudkip's Mud-Slap. The attack hit the Electrike painfully head-on, scoring a super-effective critical hit. The dog flew through the air and landed at Tyleene's feet, struggling to get up.

"Electrike! You damned brats!" cursed the woman, recalling her Pokémon. She reached for another Pokéball. "Voltorb, come on and teach these kids a lesson!"

"My, you certainly love teaching, don't you?" mocked Brendan. "Mudkip, let's keep it up with another Mud-Slap!"

"Scorch, you help him with your Ember again!" ordered Jake.

"Voltorb, roll aside and strike at Mudkip with your Thunderbolt!" commanded the woman.

Both Scorch and Mudkip shot their particular attacks at the Voltorb, a round Pokémon that resembled a large Pokéball. The latter easily rolled aside, avoiding the attacks (which this time harmlessly hit a wall), and replied with a powerful electric bolt headed towards Mudkip. The attack connected, scoring a super-effective hit, but Mudkip managed to stay awake, although barely. The trainers ushered more commands, and Scorch quickly approached the Voltorb, paw raised, ready to attack. The ball-like Pokémon charged another Thunderbolt, this time at the Charmander. Another order was spoken, and the salamander's paw glowed bright before being dug into the stone floor, easily breaking it. The electricity coursed through it and onto the floor, causing most of the damage to be wasted. Mudkip, by this time, had recovered and shot another Mud-Slap at the Voltorb. The attack hit, and the Pokémon-ball rolled for a while before shaking it's 'head' and focusing once more. This was going to be a long fight.

--XXXXX--

"Damn it!"

The threatening silence was broken by this single curse, spoken by a girl dressed mostly in red. She had been wandering for a long time now (or at least it appeared to be a long time; it was impossible to tell without light and watch), and so far was completely lost. The pitch-black darkness wasn't helping at all, and refused to go away, even at the girl's pleads, demands and even threats. When she was about to give up, May heard silent someone shout nearby, and pressed on.

"Shut up, you filth!" she heard someone shout, with a grave, male voice. The shout was quickly followed by the sound of something hitting another something, and then crying.

"Let me go home!" another voice replied. It was pretty obvious it was a little girl, and even more obvious that it was her that was crying. May's heart tightened from a mix of fear and anger.

"You idiot! You have no home to go to, or did you forget? The fire, the screams…" the first voice said, clearly taking great pleasure in his words.

"Shut up!" the second voice shouted, but the crying got more intense. May's heart was now also filled with repulsion and hatred, which were slowly consuming her fear. Adrenaline was flowing through her veins, and her heart almost skipped a beat when a small light appeared in the distance.

"Oh, the little girl's not so brave anymore, huh? Wretched little vermin…" Another kick and a small shout cut the air. May clenched her jaw, almost running through the tunnel.

As the light got bigger, she saw a large rectangular room. She was standing near one of the short sides. In front of her, the room continued for almost thirty feet, while at her left there were only ten feet before another tunnel much like her own. On the faraway corners, there were three cages that completely covered the edge. Two were empty, but on one there was a small girl, younger than ten, with brown hair that weren't that different from May's. She was dressed in a blue sleeveless shirt and a short red-brown skirt. On her feet stood long, blue socks and white shoes. Most of her was covered in dirt and some black thing that looked like soot. She was kneeling on the ground, clutching her left arm tightly. One man, dressed in the normal yellow clothes, stood near her. He was obviously her aggressor.

"Step. Away. From. Her." May growled.

Both people quickly looked at her. The girl had a look that was half-way through fear and relief, while the man had a very evil and disturbing stare. He let out a creepy smile.

"What do we have here? Well, well, well, if it isn't another little girl… one more for the collection!" he said, then laughed (although it seemed more like a bark).

"I'm warning you. Step away from her!" shouted May, jaw clenched and fists curled up into fists. She was literally shaking with anger.

"Oh, and who's gonna make me? You?" the man asked.

"Yes, me!" May replied, releasing her Torchic. "Torchic, let's show this yellow-clad clown what we can do!"

Now, the man was angry. "YELLOW-CLAD CLOWN!? I'LL SHOW YOU WHO'S THE CLOWN! ELEKID, GO!"

Torchic was now facing a yellow egg-like Pokémon. It had plug-like horns and bulky arms. The Pokémon glared daggers at each other, waiting for their trainer's commands.

"Torchic, let's start up with a Ember!" commanded May.

"Ha! What a pitiful attack! Elekid, dodge and strike back with Quick-Attack!" countered the man.

On the battlefield, Torchic opened her mouth and shot small fireballs at her oval opponent. The Elekid suddenly sprang forth in a blur of motion, completely dodging the attack and quickly counter-attacking by slamming into Torchic. The smaller Pokémon flew through the air, painfully hitting a wall. May flinched when she heard a small 'crack' at the impact, but the chicken-like creature managed to get up and responded by shooting more fireballs at the enemy. The electric type created a translucent barrier prior to the impact, and the Ember attack lost a good deal of its power. It still hit, though.

Overseeing the battle, May clenched her jaw. She recognized that technique as a Lightscreen, which would be a serious problem against her ranged attacks. She would have to get in closer, where the Elekid had a great advantage. One look at the helpless girl in the cage was all it took to make her decision.

"Torchic, close in with a Scratch!" she ordered.

The man smiled, knowing he had the upper hand. "Elekid, Thunder Punch!"

The two Pokémon met in melee, Torchic slashing the Elekid with her tiny claws while the latter punched the smaller opponent with a fist covered in electricity. Torchic once again flew through the air, but this time (luckily) didn't hit any solid object other than the ground. She struggled to get up, but was barely hanging. May rushed to her side, tears in her eyes. She definitely didn't like to see her first and only Pokémon hurt like this.

The Elekid took the opportunity to zap both of them with a Thunderbolt. May screamed as the electricity coursed through her, then passed out. The last thing she remembered was the caged girl's stare, a mix of fear and concern.

--XXXXX--

"Jake, did you hear that?" asked Brendan. Around them, the Teams were still fighting, neither one giving up any ground to the other. In their own battle, the two boys had managed to take out Tyleene's first two Pokémon, and the third, a Plusle, was almost out as well. On their side, all of their own Pokémon were still standing, although Scorch was injured and Mudkip wasn't far from fainting.

What had caused him to say those words was the fact that he had thought he heard a scream tear through the air, but with all the commotion, he wasn't sure. Still, there was something familiar about that scream…

"Yep. It was May." answered Jake, not taking his eyes off his own battle. "She's on the left tunnel. Go, and I'll finish this yellow-clad clownette in a second."

"May? Are you sure?" Brendan asked, then mentally slapped himself. Jake's hearing had been honed to an almost unnatural point from the work at his farm, and if he said it was May, then it was surely May. "Nevermind that. I'll be waiting for you."

"You won't wait long." promised Jake. Brendan recalled Mudkip and ran off towards the tunnel to their left.

"Where do you think you're going, brat?" asked Tyleene from her post in front of Jake. "Get back here!"

"Make me!" replied Brendan. "Smell ya later, yellow-clad clownette!"

Jake smiled at his friends words, and smiled even more at the Team Thunder member's reaction. She was literally speechless in her rage, but both boys could safely bet that she was thinking about some terms that are best be left untold. Jake nodded at Brendan, who resumed his running, and turned to the woman.

"So, ready to give up?" he asked in his best is-that-sarcasm-or-not voice.

"Shut up, you overgrown vermin!" the woman replied. Jake only smiled. Her attention was at him, at least for the moment.

After that merciful rest, the Pokémon resumed their fight.

--XXXXX--

The first girl was alive with emotions. She had seen the older, red-dressed girl enter and try to rescue her. She had seen the girl get zapped, together with her Torchic, by the evil man's Elekid. She had seen the said man cruelly kick the girl before throwing the older girl at another cell, adjacent to her's. And she was unsure of how to feel.

Anger? Sure, that'd be understandable. Fear and hatred too. A bit of concern for the girl and repulsion for the guy, maybe. A bit of sadness at her fate, too.

Everything got even more confused when a few seconds later, a boy entered the room. He was dressed mostly in long black clothes, and strangely had white hair. He didn't look like one of those mean yellow guys, though. And sure enough, as soon as he saw the unconscious girl, he went wild, shouting some censored words and making wild motions. He then released a Pokémon of his own, a Mudkip that looked tired. The yellow guy still had the same evil smile and mocking expression when he released his Elekid once more.

The two began to battle fiercely, neither wanting to lose, although for different reasons. Sara, for that was the first girl's name, couldn't help but to admire the boy's courage and willingness to help her friend, and was ashamed when she felt a point of jealousy about it. She didn't have anyone that cared like that about her. Heck, she didn't even have anyone that _cared _at all. Not anymore…

--XXXXX--

"Mudkip! Please, you gotta get up!" pleaded Brendan.

Things were bad. After a short battle against the man's Elekid, Brendan's already tired Mudkip had fainted, leaving him defenseless. Recalling his Pokémon, the boy got up, clenching his jaw and bracing himself for whatever would happen.

The older man recalled his Elekid and slowly approached Brendan, an evil smile on his face.

"So…" the man said, mocking Brendan. The boy immediately hated his voice. "That's all? Well, I'm disappointed. I really am."

"Shut. Up." Brendan replied, using all his willpower to refrain himself from jumping at the guy and beating him up. Mostly because Brendan would probably lose the fight.

"Oooh, so you're feisty, huh? Like your little girlfriend?"

"May's not my girlfriend! And yes, although she's probably more feisty then me. And probably stronger, too."

"Ha! Weaker than a girl! What a wimp!"

Brendan clenched his jaw. He looked over the man, towards the cages. There, the first girl looked at him, her eyes filled with a mix of fear and… admiration. It was awkward at best, and the boy quickly looked at May. He realized with a sigh of relief that the girl was waking up. He then looked back at the man.

"I'm not a wimp." he said, with as much calm as he could muster. "You're the one picking on little girls."

The man's smile disappeared so fast it'd make a diving Swellow look like a snail. He let out a threatening growl and asked in a low and dangerous voice:

"Are you calling me a wimp?"

"No, I'm calling you the biggest wimp on existence. Scared as a baby Poochyena!"

"You… you… little vermin…" said the man, shaking with rage. Brendan realized pissing him of probably wasn't a good idea. He ignored all his instincts, which told him to run like the wind and hide, and was about to say something when the man jumped on him, punching the (much) smaller boy with tremendous strength at his stomach. As Brendan drifted off to unconsciousness, he thought he heard a small 'thump', like something made of metal was hitting something hard, but dismissed it as a trick of his imagination.

--XXXXX--

Now things were even more confused. Not only had the white-haired boy been defeated and knocked out, but another, bigger boy appeared. The latter hit the evil man in the head with what seemed like a frying pan, and the man fainted. Now, the new boy was checking on the smaller boy to make sure he was alright. Once his examination was complete, he headed towards the cells, where Sara and the girl that was called May stood. The older girl was just now recovering her senses, so she had lost pretty much all the action.

The boy opened Sara's cell first (or more like broke it open), then turned to do the same with the May's cage without a word. Once both girl were free, he hurried back to the first boy.

"Jake? What happened?" asked May.

"Dunno. When I arrived here, Brendan was out being attacked by this yellow-clad clown and you were unconscious. Ask that girl next to you. I think she was awake for all the show." answered the one called Jake. Sara now knew the name of each and every one of her saviors.

"The girl?" said May, trying to remember what had happened. With a gasp, she turned to Sara, who was surprised by her first question.

"Are you okay?"

Sara blinked, surprised, at the question. She had been expecting something more straightforward towards what had just happened, not this.

"Humn, sure…" she answered, unsurely.

"I hate to break your little chat, but we gotta get outta here. Now." said Jake, taking off his backpack. "Here, I'll carry Brendan. May, you carry my backpack."

The red-dressed brunette accepted the backpack without a word and, with a groan from the effort, threw it over her back. Sara stayed at the side, feeling like she was an intruder. May saw the look on her face, and asked:

"Tell us, what's your name?"

"Sa… Sara…" the younger girl answered.

"Sara, huh? Pretty name…" said May, although it was obvious she was thinking about something else. Jake literally threw Brendan over his shoulder and headed

towards the tunnel opposite from where he had come from. The girls subconsciously walked behind him.

"Thank you." Sara blurted out after an awkward silence.

"What? No need to thank us. After all, I had to be saved as well…" replied May kindly.

"Only because you helped me…" muttered Sara, shaking her head. She could feel tears form on her eyes. "You could have gotten hurt. You _did_ get hurt, and so did your friend. And it's all my fault! I just hurt people around me!" And she started crying.

"What? Don't… don't cry… It's okay…" comforted May, rather awkwardly.

"I'm sorry… It's just that… bad memories…" sniffed Sara.

"It's okay, it's okay… Don't cry."

Sara silently wiped her eyes with the back of her eyes and looked at the ground. Soon, the tunnel got darker, and Jake called out a Charmander named Scorch. The salamander looked pretty beat up, but was still standing. They walked in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the door appeared in the distance, and Jake recalled his Charmander. The three conscious humans hurried on, and soon were once more breathing the cold morning air.

"Finally!" shouted May, breaking the silence. "Now, let's just go to the Pokémon Center and get some rest, or help in Brendan's case. Tomorrow, we'll have a lot of time to talk."

"Sound's good for me. This guy's heavier than he looks." grunted Jake. Sweat was rolling down his face.

"What… what about me?" asked Sara.

"What a question! Of course you're coming with us! Unless you have somewhere to go to, of course…" answered May.

"No… Nowhere…" muttered the younger girl, looking at the ground.

"Then, a good night's rest at the Pokémon Center then." said May softly. "Everything will be better tomorrow. I promise."

* * *

So, what do you think? Still needs some humor, but that will come on latter. Pretty heavy for a third chapter too. Oh well.

I'm pretty satisfied with this story. For my first FanFic, I already have thirty hits and a favorite (thanks a bunch, Murkrowfeather!). I wasn't expecting that much. Thank you all!

So, be ready for the next chapter. It should be out by Saturday, Sunday tops. See you then!

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	4. The Four Youthful Friends

Hello, dear readers.

Thanks to all of you! This story already has 60 hits (59, to be exact), one favorite (once again, thanks, Murkrowfeather), and MY FIRST REVIEW! WOHOO! THANKS, QUOTA, YOU ROCK!

Ok, now that that's out of the way, here comes the next chapter. Enjoy!

* * *

**_Less than Legends, More than Myths_**

**Chapter 4: The Four Youthful Friends**

"Your Pokémon are going to be alright." assured the Nurse dressed in a pink dress and white apron, standing behind the counter. "As for your friend, I cannot say anything conclusive until the doctor gets here, but I don't think it's anything serious. It'll probably just leave a bruise for some time, but he'll be as good as new."

"Thanks a lot. I really owe you one." thanked the tall boy. "Oh, and thanks for Brendan too."

"I'm glad I could help. But I insist on knowing what happened. And I'll have to call your parents." the nurse said, her normally soft voice hardening.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I promise to tell you what happened as soon as Brendan's awake and I, and the rest of the gang, know the truth ourselves." replied the boy, waving his hand dismissively. "As for our parents, it's getting late. Don't you think that could at least wait 'till the morning?"

The nurse bit her lip, considering the idea. Finally, she sighed and said:

"Sure. But tomorrow without fail."

"Once again, thanks."

And with those words, the boy turned around and headed for the medical wing.

--XXXXX--

"So…" said the girl dressed in red. The person she was talking to, a smaller girl with a blue shirt and a skirt, didn't answer. She just kept looking at her lap, ignoring the food in the table in front of her.

"So…" tried May once more, with the same reaction.

"Answer me, dammit!" she shouted, finally losing her cool. The smaller girl immediately snapped her head up and cowered in fear.

"Sorry…" muttered May, embarrassed and a bit guilty. "But you gotta understand. I have no idea of what just happened there! Brendan could have gotten hurt, and more importantly, _I_ could have gotten hurt! And still I understand a thing! It's so frustrating, not to mention… freaky!"

"I'm… I'm… sorry…" said Sara, looking at her lap once more. And then was back to silence.

"That's it? 'I'm sorry'? Well, _I'm _sorry, but I need more than that!" May shouted.

Sara was more than slightly shocked at her change. Back at the ruins, the older girl had been extremely kind and controlled, whispering to Sara that everything was going to be alright. Tears rose the young girl's eyes. Even after getting zapped, literally, for a complete stranger, May still had tried to _comfort _ her. And all Sara did was cry. Stay silent or cry…

But now, May seemed different. She was a lot less controlled, more irritated. But then again, she had every right to be. Once the adventure was over, the older girl had had time to stop and think about everything that had happened. And her Pokémon were hurt, her fried was still unconscious, and the boy called Jake still hadn't appeared. After they had arrived at the Pokémon Center, he had taken Torchic's Pokéball, asked Sara if she had any Pokémon (to which the girl answered with a barely audible 'no'), and told the girls to go get something to eat while he took care of the rest. May had argued a bit, but she was starving and apparently Jake was Brendan's friend for much longer than she had been, so she ended up giving up.

Now, the girls were sitting at the cafeteria. Sara just wanted to leave, feeling like an outsider, but May had stopped her. They had gotten something to eat, and now here they were.

"What do you want to know?" asked Sara, looking up from her lap. After a brief moment of surprise, May smiled.

"Well, let's see… who were those guys?" she asked.

"The yellow ones… they were Team Thunder." answered the younger girl, trying to swallow through the annoying lump on her throat. May didn't seem to notice.

"The yellow-clad clowns? They were Team Thunder? Are they criminals like Team Magma and Aqua?"

"Yes… but they're recent. A lot more recent than those…"

"Okay…" said May slowly, beginning to notice that the younger girl was obviously not comfortable talking about that. She decided to change the topic. "So, why were they and Team Magma fighting?"

"Dunno." answered Sara, relieved about the change. "All I know is that deep inside that tunnel their something that Team Magma really wants. Something about an orb…" She shook her head. "Anyway, Team Thunder, being the selfish crooks they are, couldn't allow it's _competition _to get any head over them, so they set out to stop Team Magma. They also said something about the temple… I think they called it the Temple of Untold Tales, for some reason… I'm sorry, but that's all I remember…"

"It's okay. But why were you there?"

"It's a… long story." Sara's eyes began to shine with tears. "You see, my father… he was one of Team Thunder scientists. He had only been working for a short time when he… stumbled… upon some dark secret." The girl took a deep breath to steady her voice before continuing. "I don't know what it was. He never told me… but it was so big that he threatened to leave the organization and go to the police. He didn't even care if he went to jail himself, as long as Team Thunder was stopped…"

At that point, she couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears burst forth from her eyes, quickly crossing her cheeks before dropping on her plate. But she couldn't stop talking. Talking was a relief to the immense weight that was thrown upon her shoulders, and she couldn't stop herself, even amidst her crying. "They… killed him. They set our house on fire, and killed him! Daddy gave his life to save me then, but all I managed to do was to fall onto Team Thunder's hands and become a prisoner! I'm so useless!"

May stood silent, unsure of how to act in response to this emotional torrent. She was deeply moved by the girl's words, her spirit flaming up with rage and hatred towards those vile criminals. When she realized all the guilt and hatred to herself that Sara harbored, she reached out and impulsively hugged the smaller girl, causing the latter to stop, surprised, for a moment. Then, Sara let out all the suffering she had endured out. When she was done, she felt horrible, but inside herself she knew she would be much better the next morning.

"Thanks…" the girl muttered, looking at her lap.

"Sara." called May. A bit reluctant, the smaller girl looked at the red-clad girl's stunning sapphire eyes. "It's okay. And I want you to know that, if you want, you can always come with us. And I promise we'll keep you safe."

Overcome with emotion, Sara stood there, unmoving for a second. Then, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and smiled, a pure, simple and happy smile.

"Thanks. How can I ever thank you enough?" she asked.

"No need. It is our pleasure. Plus, it'd be nice to have some female company for a change. I mean, I've only been walking with Brendan and Jake for two days, but Arceus, can those guys get in your nerves!" replied May, and they both laughed. Then, Sara yawned, and both girls realized how tired they were.

"Man, being the good guys sure beats the hell outta you, doesn't it?" said May, more a statement than a question. Sara only nodded.

"True. You two should get some sleep." said a new voice. "You look like you'll fall asleep on your food."

The girls turned around, surprised, to see Jake standing near their table. May had never seen him looking so tired, but still some burning determination glowed in his eyes.

"How 'bout you? I mean, you look even more tired than we do…" the girl said.

"Don't worry about me. Even if I tried, I'm pretty sure I couldn't sleep. Plus, the night's still young." the boy answered. "I want to wait for the Pokémon to get better."

"And Brendan." added May.

"Oh yeah. Sure, him too." said Jake. Of course, no one believed he had forgot the smaller boy.

"We'll wait for him too." said the red-clad girl firmly.

"Bah! You can barely keep your eyes open. Stop arguing and go to bed willingly, or you'll go by force." replied Jake, and neither of the girls could tell if he was kidding. Sara shot May a glance, but the older girl just shrugged. Both of them yawned again, and Sara realized she really couldn't keep her eyes open anymore. May saw her and sighed before muttering a low "Fine…" and heading, together with Sara, to the room the girls shared. The boy just looked in silence, a smile on his lips.

--XXXXX--

"So, is everyone packed up?" asked Jake.

"What'd you think? It's past noon!" replied Brendan. "If everyone _wasn't _ready, he or she would be a _very_ lazy bum."

"You're the one to speak." said May calmly. "You don't have any shoes."

"What?" the boy asked, then looked down at his feet. Sure enough, he had no shoes. "What the hell?"

May and Sara had slept in their room. When they woke up, Jake was already rested and ready, saying Brendan was up and was going to survive. They had gone to their friend, who was just leaving the medical wing of the Pokémon, and together ate breakfast. Sara told them the same thing she had told May, but she seemed calmer, more controlled. She hadn't even cried at all. Finally, the girls had asked the boys if it was okay for Sara to join them in their travels. Jake shrugged and said "Better four than three if we ever get pitted against a pack of Ursarings, I guess.", leaving the rest to figure out what he meant by that. Brendan had accepted as well, but couldn't contain himself from saying "Oh, two boys and two girls, walking around a forest at night… Man, am I glad that my father doesn't know about this! Or even better, I'm glad _Jake's_ father doesn't know this. I swear he'd come here and personally tear each one of us apart! But maybe it isn't so bad… maybe some _interesting_ stuff can happen to two boys and two girls around a forest at night…". That comment earned him a (very) painful slap from May and a small blush from Sara, but no one noticed the latter (although the same cannot be said about the former).

Nurse Joy then appeared and handed them back their Pokémon, demanded a complete tale of what had happened and insisted on calling their parents. Luckily, everyone quickly came up with some excuses and hurriedly left. The Nurse Joy, needless to say, wasn't very thrilled, but kept her mouth shut. But she'd keep one eye out for this gang…

Then, the four of them proceeded to get ready to head out, and Brendan just learned his shoes had gone missing, which led to the present argument.

"You don't even know where your shoes are?" asked Jake.

"Last time I checked, they were on my _feet_." the boy answered. "Why would someone take off my shoes while I'm unconscious?"

"Maybe their real owner found you and wanted them back." proposed Jake, shrugging.

"Oh yeah, we _did_ get these shoes from that boy around here, didn't we?" said Brendan, more to himself than to others. The girls just stared at him.

"You don't wanna know." said Jake to them. "And I mean it."

"Anyway, I think I have a spare." continued Brendan, dropping his backpack to the ground and drawing another pair of (identical) shoes. The boy quickly put them on, closed his backpack and stood up once more.

"Ok!" he said. "Ready to rumble? Prepared to hit the road? All set to dive deep where no Relicanth lies?"

Jake and Sara laughed at that last sentence, while May just looked at them quizzically.

"Man, that's a good one. I haven't heard that since… well, since I was four." said Jake.

"Yeah! It's like, soooo old!" agreed Sara, before realizing she was almost shouting and closing her mouth, embarrassed

"Will someone tell me what that means, already?" asked May, getting angry. Boy, were these boys able to piss her off.

"Just forget it." said Brendan with a smile. "It's just an old expression. An _oooold_ expression."

As they left the Pokémon Center and moved on towards Petalburg City, their next stop, no one saw the Nurse Joy duck hidden in a corner. Silently, the woman drew a cell-phone from her apron and dialing a number. When someone picked up on the other end of the call, the nurse whispered:

"Shelly? Yeah, this is Kate. I got some nice information for you, concerning Team Magma and the temple…"

--XXXXX--

The group of four moved through the road. They should be in Petalburg City in less than three days, if the weather permitted it. May was positively excited at the idea of seeing her father at his Gym, but was even more worried about the impression her new friends would cause. Which led to _this_ argument.

"There's no way you'll all meet my dad." May said firmly. "Sara can pass of as a decent human, but you two certainly can't."

"Aw!" protested Brendan in mock hurt. "Now you're just being mean."

"Brendan, are you sure you wanna meet her father and have to explain the whole 'two boys and two girls' thing to him?" asked Jake.

"…"

"That's what I thought."

The two boys continued on with a useless and probably health-endangering chat while the girls slowed down a bit and allowed the rest of the group to move forward. When they were a safe distant away, May asked Sara:

"So, how are you holding up?"

"Me? Well, it's odd. You guys have been travelling for, what? Three days? And yet it seemed like you have been friends forever." the girl replied.

"That's nice… but you didn't answer my question."

"But I promise I will… as soon as I know it myself."

"What does that mean?"

"It's just that… these last days were so fast, I barely had time to think about anything."

"You'll have plenty of time now. Unless those _things_ in front insist on being themselves. In that case, focus only on running away as fast as possible."

"Brendan doesn't seem to bad…"

"Oh, believe me, he's not the lesser of two evils. Although Jake isn't either. They're both equally… Hey, are you listening to me?" May snapped her fingers in front of Sara's face, who was completely oblivious to the older girl. She seemed to be looking at something in front of her, eyes dreamy and drooling slightly.

"What? Oh, sorry…" she muttered, returning her focus to her present conversation and looking at the ground so that May wouldn't see her blush. "Just lost focus there for a second…"

With a sigh, the girl kept on walking. The group slowly but surely made its way towards Petalburg City, and their adventure: encountering May's father and surviving to tell the tale.

--XXXXX--

The sky was already dark when the group found themselves on a decently-sized clearing and decided to stop for the night. May and Sara, but mostly May, decided they would cook that night. Brendan said he still was a bit sick from the punch he had so kindly been blessed with in the previous day, and as such wasn't hungry. Jake opted for a much simpler excuse, which consisted at growling at the girls if they ever came near.

Muttering some censored words about the boys, May started a little fire with her Torchic and tried to make some fried eggs on Jake's frying pan. That was a good deal harder than it sounded, for the pan had a deep dent where it had hit the Team Thunder member back at the Temple of Untold Tales. The fried eggs ended up having to be scrambled, because it was impossible to fry anything in that pan. Sara helped her as she could, bringing salt and plates and enduring the torture of having to _eat_ the eggs (which were pitch-black by the time they were 'ready'). From a safe distance, Brendan and Jake laughed non-stop, more laughs coming forth each time one of the girls put a piece of egg on her mouth and tried to swallow it as quickly as possible in order not to feel the taste.

Finally, the meal was over, and Sara couldn't help but sigh in relief. May, deeply annoyed by everyone making fun of her cooking, said she was tired and angrily retreated back to her sleeping bag. Shortly after, Jake left for a walk, saying he'd be back before (too) long. And, for the first time, Sara was alone with Brendan.

"Sooo…" the girl said shyly, looking at the ground and twirling her fingers.

"So what?" asked Brendan.

"So… h-how have you met-" Sara gulped nervously, still looking at the ground. "-met Jake?"

"We've been friends since we were little kids. Or, as our parents called us, 'demonical, cruel, health-endangering parasites'. Ah, those were the times." the boy replied, looking at the stars from his bench, his arms behind him to provide support and a smile on his lips, the light of the fire reflected on his ruby eyes…

"Uhm, Sara?" asked the boy. "Sara? Sara!"

"What?" the girl said, snapping back from her thoughts. She realized she had been staring at the boy like a Mightyena staring at his next dinner. Blushing wildly, she looked at the ground once more, hopping that Brendan hadn't noticed her gaze.

"Why were you looking at me like a Mightyena staring at his next dinner?"

Well, so much for that thought. Sara's brain raced as she tried to think of an excuse that wouldn't completely embarrass her.

"Humn… well… it's just that… you see…" the girl muttered, still thinking. Brendan just raised an eyebrow.

"Dude, you have a way with girls." said a new voice. "You render them speechless. Literally. Or at least in May's case. For an hour and a half."

Sara lifted her gaze from the ground to see that Jake was back from his walk. With perfect timing, too. And maybe it was just Sara's imagination, or a trick of the fire's light, but the girl could swear she saw him wink at her.

"You still on that one?" asked Brendan. "Let it go!"

"Hmph, easy for you two say. You have no idea how boring it is to follow-"

"Stalk."

"-someone for almost two hours without hearing a word."

Brendan smiled. "Man, when was that? Two, three days ago? It seems like forever." he said.

"Oh wait!" continued Jake, ignoring him. An evil smile crossed his face. "You _do_ know… remember Julie?"

Brendan's smile was gone quicker than a diving Swellow. "Shut up, dude." the boy said in a warning tone.

"Ah, so you _do_ remember, huh? But then again, how could you forget? With all the-" said Jake, but the rest of his sentence was cut off by May, who was now sleeping in her back. The girl had suddenly turned around, still asleep, and shouted something that sounded like 'Guhmm blargh!", causing Jake to lose his focus. For the best, probably.

"Well, I'm off to sleep." muttered Sara quickly, enjoying the distraction. She had humiliated herself enough for one day, and with Jake back, she was feeling like an outsider again.

"Sure. G'night." said Brendan absently. "Sleep with the Gardevoir."

"Thanks…"

The girl retreated into Jake's spare sleeping back, which the boy always conveniently carried around. The last thing she saw before sleep overcame her was Brendan, talking and trading jokes with Jake, his laughter echoing through the air…

* * *

So, there it was. The four chapter of LtL, MtM (funny, I just realized that sounds like Little Mountain...).

I hope this chapter has relieved some of the drama from the previous two (if that kept on going, I'd have to change the story to Adventure/Drama...) and had some much needed comic relief. But it wasn't all fun either. Questions were answered, weren't they? Oh, and a little hint. Keep an eye out for Nurse Joy...

Thanks alot for all the readers, Murkrowfeather and Quota (who have inspired me beyond words)! And remember to R&R! And, of course, let me know if any mistakes are present, and I'll correct them (if I'm not to lazy).

And on this chapter we saw the first hint of romance... I hope I got the character's personallity right. And to all you Hoennshippers who only read this story because of the summary, I promise you it _will_ be present. Sara having a crush on Brendan is just the first needed step towards my 'semi love square', as I like to call it. But you'll have to read to learn more...

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	5. A Ray of Sunlight

Hello there, dear readers!

Yay! Already have 90 hits (exactly and precisely)!

So, a new chapter of LtL, MtM! On this chapter, there isn't much plot development, but there is some small bit of humor and a new character (twom actually) is introduced. And they will be very important further on!

So, without further delay, here is Chapter Five!

* * *

_**Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter Five: A Ray of Sunlight!**

"Let's hit the road!" shouted Brendan, pumping at the air with his right arm.

The group had rested for the night. Now, a little after dawn, the air still fresh and clean, they continued on their path to Petalburg City, where they would meet May's father (for the better or for the worse…).

"Someone's in an awfully good mood today." noted May, raising an eyebrow. The boy nodded frantically.

"Sure am!" he said. "Today, I'm gonna catch my second Pokémon!"

"So? There's people that have about two hundred."

"Maybe so, but none of them are named Brendan!"

"Only about fifty."

"No one has white hair, then."

"Twenty-five. Brendan is an old guy name."

"Must you strive to ruin my fun?"

"It entertains me."

"Kids…" said Jake, shaking his head. "So young and innocent."

"You're the one to speak! You're… what? Thirteen? Fourteen?" asked May

"Twelve, actually. But that's not the point. Age is a state of mind." Jake replied.

"So you're saying your mind's more developed than ours."

"Indeed."

"Well, it's not!"

"Do you need any proof or...?"

"Shoot me with your best shot, big guy! What do you have say?"

"I do not need to usher a word." Jake then pointed at Brendan, who was at the moment trying to make his hair take the form of a horn. All the while with a stupid expression on his face, with even his tongue outside, like if he was concentrating on an arduous task. "He is all the proof I need."

"So? We all know Brendan's an immature, idiotic jerk! But that doesn't mean I am. Or Sara is, by the way."

"Hey! I heard that!" shouted Brendan, still trying to fix his horn. "Dammit! I'm never buying this stupid gel again!"

Jake rolled his eyes. Then, while May was looking at the other boy, he leaned in closer and whispered at her ear "Ssss-pider.". The girl jumped a foot into the air and ran around screaming "GET IT OFF! GET IT OFF!!". When she noticed that the boys were laughing and Sara, who was behind them, barely containing her own laughter, she turned to Jake and pointed an accusing finger towards the boy.

"YOU!" she shouted.

"Me indeed. And I think I've proven my point." the boy replied calmly.

"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" May screamed as she lunged towards Jake. The boy rolled his eyes and, after deciding that he wasn't in the mood to throw her on the ground, simply sidestepped the attack. May was carried on by her force and nearly hit a tree.

"Humn... g-guys?" asked Sara shyly. "I wanted to... to know... ghumbla..." She stopped when everybody looked at her. Forgetting her line of thought, she muttered a few sounds and looked at the ground, swallowing against the lump on her throat.

"You know, it wouldn't _kill_ you to actually finish a sentence once in a while. Really." said Brendan. "I mean, every time somebody even _looks_ at you, you go all 'blrgh...' and then shut up."

"Brendan, let it go! Sara's only a bit nervous about being new to the group." interrupted May.

"If I remember correctly, _you_ just joined us three days ago. And when we met, you didn't seem to mind speaking. Or yelling. Or punching. Or insulting my father, for that matter."

"Do she and Sara _actually_ strike you as _anything_ alike?" asked Jake. "Except from the fact that they're both female humans, they're as different as a Poochyena and a Wailord."

"True..." muttered Brendan thoughtfully. "Now that you mention, they really are nothing alike. Well, at least Sara won't have May's explosive temper then, right?"

"MY WHAT!?" shouted May. The boys ignored her.

"Probably. We can't know for sure until we really piss her off." said Jake. Both of them looked at Sara with evil grins on their faces. The girl stumbled back a bit, worried.

"DID YOU SAY I HAVE AN EXPLOSIVE TEMPER!?" shouted May. "I'LL SHOW YOU EXPLOSIVE TEMPER!"

"No need. You are already showing us." said Jake. "Now chill your nerves, woman."

"I AM SOOOO GONNA KILL YOU! I SWEAR I WILL! I WILL HUNT YOU DOWN AND TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB UNTIL..."

As May continued her dark threats, Jake rolled his eyes and just kept on walking. Brendan, after a few seconds of thought, began to adjust his hair again, using a bottle of a suspicious-looking hair gel. Sara just stood behind them, a bit afraid of May's temper. But then again, who wasn't, other than Jake?

The friends just moved on. A perfect band of kids. A calm, freakishly strong boy, a slimmer, white-haired boy, a girl shouting at the top of her lungs, and a girl that was too shy to finish a sentence. Just normal.

--XXXXX--

When noon had come and gone, the group decided to stop for lunch at the protective shadow of some large trees a little to the side of the road. The sun was shining like the huge fireball it was, and it's heat was nearly unbearable. Even though Hoenn was a rather tropical region, this kind of heat was unusual around Route 102. When they were are comfortably adjusted, Brendan spoke.

"Hey, guys." he said. "I've been thinking-"

"Yeah right!" interrupted May. Nobody laughed.

"- and I reached a conclusion: we gotta catch more Pokémon."

"Isn't that, like, a _rule_ for a Pokémon trainer?" asked May.

"No! I mean, sure it is, unless you got the hell of a Pokémon, but that's not the point! Things is, chances are that will we meet a criminal Team again. And when that happens, we gotta be ready."

"What do you mean, _chances are_?" asked Jake. "It's either a sure 'yes' or a definite 'no'."

"Then a 'yes' it is. After all, we meddled with their plans and literally knocked out one of Team Thunder's members out. D'you think that they'll just let it pass?" answered Brendan.

"No..." muttered Sara, looking at the ground. "They won't."

Everybody shot her a quick glance, but as they didn't embarrass her, quickly moved their eyes along. May frowned, worried, while Jake just looked over at the distance, his gaze unfocused.

"You're right." said May. "If we ever _do_ meet them again, I'd rather be prepared. And for that, we need to train."

"Aye." agreed Jake. "And we need more Pokémon... I'd rather face a fair three-on-three fight than a three-on-one."

"So, that's settled." said Brendan, determination burning on his eyes. "From now on, we'll train to hold our ground against those crooks. And maybe one day, we'll overthrow them. Who knows?"

"Indeed." said Jake, getting up. "I think I'll start right away."

"So will I." said May, also getting up.

"Actually, May, I'd rather you stayed." said Brendan, a mischievous smile spreading across his face. "I have something to talk to you and Sara about..."

Jake raised an eyebrow at his words, but still walked away. When they were alone, the two girls looked at the boy.

"So, what is it?" asked May impatiently.

"I think Sara needs a Pokémon." the boy answered right away. "In case we aren't nearby, Sara, you gotta be able to fare for yourself."

"I... don't know..." said the younger girl, looking at the ground. "I've never had a Pokémon before..."

"That's what we humans call 'start'. And you'll be fine!" assured Brendan. Sara blushed slightly, and she was glad she was looking at her feet.

"Yeah. We'll help you catch one." added May, starting to understand where Brendan was going. "From there, you'll be just like us."

"D-do you... really mean it?" asked Sara.

"Does a starving Mightyena that finds a unaware rabbit attacks his prey? Does the Mightyena rake the rabbit in pieces, shredding it's frail body with his powerful jaw and pointed teeth? Does he slowly eats the bloody intestines and guts, enjoying the-" said the boy.

"BRENDAN!" shouted May. "Enough!"

"Ooops... got carried away. Sorry." said the boy, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. "Yes, we mean it. After all, it's just one Pokémon..."

"Thanks..." the young girl muttered.

"Not a problem. So, let's do this. C'mon, girls! We've got a Pokémon to catch."

As they quickly packed their supplies, May noticed two things: first, someone was eating a good deal of her food, because she was already almost out of rations; and second, when Sara took  
at peak at Brendan, May realized the younger girl's blush, and a rush of emotions came to her; the will to laugh at them, joy for Sara liking someone, and maybe a bit of... jealousy?

"_No, that can't be right."_ the girl thought, shaking her head. _"I can't like Brendan! It's ridiculous! Look at that _thing_! Bah!"_

Feeling a bit better, May followed the others as they began their mission.

--XXXXX--

Silent as a shadow, the boy moved through the forest. His eyes darted nonstop from one side to another, his ears were listening for any little sound. On one hand, he gripped a Pokéball tightly. With the other, he scratched his chin.

"_Brendan has a point..." _he thought. _"Whether to our liking or not, Team Thunder will come after us. And something tells me that they won't be the only ones..."_

The boy was snapped out of his thoughts by a small squeaking sound. Quickly changing his direction and heading towards the sound, the boy soon arrived upon a clearing. On the middle of the empty space stood a mighty tree, taller than the others (although not to the point of being visible at a distance). On the said tree were various tiny, acorn-like creatures that the boy recognized as Seedot. Interest, he watched as two of the small creatures (they didn't even get to his knee) fight, tackling each other on the ground. The other Seedot watched as well, some excited, some annoyed, but most scared. Only a small band of about half a dozen (from the fifty that were gathered on the tree) seemed to be enjoying the show.

"_What's going on here?"_ the boy asked himself. _"Curious..."_

The bigger of the two fighters (which wasn't much of a compliment) managed to dodge an attack from his opponent and counter with a quick Tackle Attack. The smaller Seedot stumbled back a few feet before falling unconscious. From the tree, many Seedot let out sounds that seemed like grunts of despair. Only the six enjoyers cheered for the victor.

"See, dot seedot dot see Seedot!" one of the tree-Seedot shouted.

"Dot dot! See dot Seedot!" the victor replied harshly. The many Seedot at the tree shrunk back a little, and the Seedot that had shouted shut up. The small band didn't seem fazed.

"See... dot..." said the loser Seedot, who was struggling to get up. All the other Seedot looked at it, hope in their eyes. But then it fell down again. The victor Seedot didn't look convinced, though, and approached it for another tackle. Without a second of thought, the boy jumped on the way. Gritting his teeth against the pain of the tackle, he managed to grasp the Seedot with his free hand and throw it against the tree with all his might. The creature flew through the air and hit the huge plant with tremendous strength, collapsing from the impact.

In a flash, the six Seedot that were cheering for the victor got up and headed towards him. All together, their eyes began to glow green, and the boy could feel his energy abandon him. He fell to his knees, panting heavily.

"_Dammit!"_ he thought. _"That was an Absorb! I gotta get outta here..."_

Before he could put his plan into action, however, the Seedot prepared another Absorb. Out of instinct, the boy released a Charmander from the Pokéball in his hand just as everything went black and silent.

--XXXXX--

"Soooo..." said Sara, trying to start a conversation. When her two companions looked at her, she shut up and looked at the ground.

Sara, May and Brendan had been walking for almost one hour now. They had seen a few Pokémon about, mostly Poochyena and Zigzagoon, but Brendan dismissed them as 'not tough enough'. Apparently, the boy wanted to find a Pokémon that was strong enough to rival a started Pokémon. May had argued that, based on what she had learned from the nearby area, that was impossible, since few Pokémon were as strong as the starters, and even more impossible because the strongest Pokémon around Route 102 was probably a Taillow, but the boy had paid no heed to her words. So, they continued to walk, May mad at Brendan, Brendan mad at May, and Sara... well, being Sara.

"I _told_ you to stop doing that!" snapped Brendan. Whether he liked it or not, he was becoming quite irritated with all the walking around. "Finish a damn sentence!"

"S-sorry..." muttered Sara, looking at the ground. She could feel tears at the corner of her eyes.

"Brendan!" reprimanded May, painfully slapping the boy on the head. "Apologize right now!"

"Okay, okay! Sorry!" Brendan said, not very convincingly. May shot him a warning glance, and he stuck out his tongue at her.

"DID YOU JUST STICK YOUR TONGUE AT ME!?" the girl shouted, blazing anger flooding her.

Brendan's eyes went wide. He still (painfully) remembered the first two times when May had beaten him (literally), and he _really_ didn't want that to happen again.

"No! I just... tried to... lick my nose?" he replied tentatively. _"Oh yeah, that'll save me."_

"Oh yeah, that'll save you!" said May, her voice filled with a mix of sarcasm and anger. "Come here, you bastard!"

Brendan considered the possibility of making a run for it, but was stopped before he could reach a conclusion. In seconds, the familiar feeling of lying in the ground, clutching his stomach and trying to protect himself against 'The Skarmory' flooded him. And it was not pleasant.

Sara just watched the two, her eyes wide, unsure if she should stop them or not. For one side, she didn't want her Breny to get hurt, but on the other, she _really_ didn't want to anger May. So she stood there, undecided, until May kicked Brendan once more. It wasn't any different from the other kicks, and it would have been ignored if not by the fact that Brendan didn't manage to defend himself against it. The foot carried on, hitting the boy's face with all its might. Brendan let out a howl of pain, and May immediately stopped the attack.

"Brendan!" the girl shouted, kneeling near the boy. "Oh, I'm sooooo sorry!"

"My. Face!" the boy shouted, clutching his face tightly. His voice sounded funny.

"Let me take a look at it." ordered May. Sara could see she was feeling guilty. The smaller girl kneeled by the red-clad girl's side, trying to give some support. And, of course, worried about the screaming and agonizing Brendan in front of them.

The boy slowly withdrew his hands from his face. "How bad is it?" he asked, flinching from the pain. Although he tried to hide it, his voice was shaky, and tears ran down his cheeks.

Upon the sight of the wound, both girls gasped. Brendan's nose was awkwardly facing the left, covered in blood. It was obvious that it was broken.

"It's..." said May, uncertain. She bit her lip and went on. "It's fine. Just a scratch."

"Really?" asked the boy, sounding relieved and sceptical at the same time. "Then why does it hurt so much?"

"Because..." started May, but Sara cut her off.

"It's broken!" the smaller girl shouted. May shot her a dark glance, but didn't move.

"What!? Just freaking great! Thank you _sooo_ much, May!" Brendan replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Thank you _sooo_ very much!"

"Oh, don't be such a baby!" May said, but was still biting her lip. Sara realized, surprised, that she was holding back tears.

"Damn!" the boy cursed as he struggled to get up, holding his nose. Blood slowly ran down his hands to his arms. He faltered for a second, but managed to recompose himself. Once step at a time, he walked back the way they had come, zigzagging as if he was drunk.

"Brendan! You shouldn't move!" May said, chasing after him. The girl grasped the boy's shoulders in order to make him stop, but this threw the latter off balance and he fell to the ground, shouting various curses. He struggled to get up.

"Stay away from me!" he shouted once he was standing.

"Brendan..." May started to say, tears finally breaking through. "I'm sorry..."

"Go. Away!"

"BRENDAN!" Sara shouted.

Everybody looked at her, surprised. The small girl never talked, except to May, and shouting like that was extremely... weird.

"Don't shout at May like that!" Sara continued, ignoring the glances for the first time. "She didn't mean to hurt you!"

"Oh, _excuuuuuse me,_ but I think she _punched me_, _threw me _on the_ ground, _and then _kicked_ me! In what twisted world does that qualify as 'didn't mean to hurt you'?" Brendan replied, after recovering from shock.

Sara realized she didn't have a comeback for that. She thought about saying 'she was just kidding', but for some reason she felt that Brendan had a reply for that too. Then, realization of her outburst dawned over her, and she looked at the ground, embarrassed for talking so much.

"Hmph!" Brendan buffed, then continued on his way. May and Sara stood behind.

"May..." whispered the latter softly, tentatively laying her hands on the bigger girl's shoulders. "May, are you okay?"

"I'm... fine." the girl said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. Then, she nervously bit her lip. "Where did Brendan go?"

"That way." Sara replied, pointing over to where the boy had disappeared. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine... C'mon, we gotta find him." May replied, walking over to where Sara had pointed.

"Sure..."

--XXXXX--

"Ray, c'mon!"

The sixteen-year-old boy looked up to see the girl. She was tall and thin, with cascading blond hair and stunningly clear blue eyes. She appeared to be no older than fifteen or sixteen. The boy groaned.

"Argh! Why the rush? Can't we just enjoy the sight?" he complained.

"Because we're late! The malls close at six, so we gotta be at Lilycove City before that."

With a groan, the boy got up from his sleeping bag. His fever was coming back, making every move slow and tiring. When he had finished packing his things, he had to sit on a log to avoid being overcome by fatigue. The girl noticed that, and sat next to him.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah. I'm fine." the boy answered. "It's just this damn fever..."

"I thought it was better by now."

"I did so too. But it's coming back."

"Oh, Ray... You should rest. It's okay if we don't make it too Lilycove..."

"No." said the boy, shaking his head. "I don't wanna make you lose the chance to buy your little sister the gift she wants before her birthday."

"I don't think it's worth it if you get sick again. You stayed in bed for almost a week last time, remember? Who knows what can happen if the fever comes back?"

"I'm fine." lied the boy getting up. "Plus, I'd rather go into a coma than see you sad."

"Oh, Ray!" said the girl, hugging him and kissing him on the lips. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll give you something good once we get there..."

"What are we waiting for? To Lilycove City!"

The girl laughed as she released her Tropius. The two teenagers climbed onto the Brontosaur-like creature and flew away.

--XXXXX—

"Where did that boy go!?" shouted May in frustration. She and Sara had been looking for Brendan for almost thirty minutes now, with no success. They were deep in the woods now, by Sara's measurements.

"May, calm down. It won't do anybody any good if you get mad." said Sara. She was about to say something else when something crashed into her side, coming from some bushes. The girl fell onto the ground, gasping for breath.

"Sara!" May shouted in concern, hurrying over to where friend was laid on the dirt, a strange white Pokémon with a green horn over her. The creature was no taller than May's knees.

"I'm okay..." Sara replied, dizzy. The creature in top of her looked at her face and muttered an apologetic "Ralts...".

"What is that thing?" May asked, curious.

"This?" answered Sara. She got up and lifted the creature in her arms, extending them so she could take a better look. "Hey! This is a Ralts! They're pretty rare around here."

"Really? You should catch it, then!"

"Are you sure? It looks so... small."

May was about to say something when the two heard the bushes rattle. Quickly turning their attention to the plants, they saw a Zigzagoon appearing. Once the raccoon-like Pokémon saw the Ralts cradled in Sara's arms, he let out something that sounded like a bark and prepared to attack.

"Torchic, come on out!" May said, instinctively releasing her Torchic for protection. The little chicken-like creature looked around curiously for a second, then focused her eyes on the Zigzagoon.

"Torchic, attack that raccoon with an Ember attack!"

Torchic opened her mouth and shot a bunch of small fireballs towards the Zigzagoon. The latter quickly dodged and countered-attacked with a Quick Attack, sending Torchic flying. The small Pokémon was up in a second, however. Hearing her trainer's words, she focused on the Zigzagoon and looking for any weak spots. The raccoon Pokémon took the opportunity to use a powerful Headbut, and Torchic once again flew through the air. She managed to rise to her feet again, although a good deal more slowly than the last time.

May bit her lip. This Zigzagoon was tougher than she expected. "Torchic, use Ember again!"

The chicken-like Pokémon shot more fireballs at the Zigzagoon, who dodged with a well-timed Quick-Attack and countered with another Headbut. Torchic was barely standing. As a last-stand effort, the Fire type used another Ember, this time hitting the enemy while he was closing in for the finish with another Quick Attack. The fireballs hit him square in the head, causing the Zigzagoon to faint. However, his force carried him on towards the surprised Torchic, and after a rough impact, both were knocked out.

May overlooked the battle, surprised. "A draw?" she asked.

"Sure seems like it." Sara answered. "You should catch that Zigzagoon! He sure is tough."

"Good point. Pokéball, go!" May said as she recalled her Torchic and threw a Pokéball at the fainted Zigzagoon. The ball rocked back and forth for a few seconds, then stood still with a small sound. "Yes! I caught a Zigzagoon! I'll name you Zigzy!"

"That's great, May!" Sara congratulated.

"Ralts, ralts!" the Ralts said, still cradled in Sara's arms.

"Hey, I completely forgot about you!" the small girl said. "You're a nice little Ralts, aren't ya?"

"Ralts!" the creature said, nodding. Both girls laughed.

"Well, I think we should find Bren-" said May, but was interrupted.

From the forest around them appeared many creatures, all of the Zigzagoon or Linoon (the bigger and longer evolution of Zigzagoon). And none of them looked happy.

"That's bad." Sara said, instinctively getting closer to May.

"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed." the bigger girl replied sarcastically.

Sara was about to say something else when the Pokémon charged at them. Both girls (and the Ralts) screamed.

--XXXXX--

"D'you hear that?" asked the blonde girl.

"Sounded like a girl screaming." answered the brown-haired boy.

"Tropius, bring us down!" the girl ordered.

The huge, brown, winged Brontosaur-like Pokémon with bananas on his chin (no, not an expression; actual bananas) known as Tropius descended to the ground, landing with a strong 'Thump' that shook the ground.

Looking around, the boy soon saw two girls who stood atop a tree. On the ground, many Zigzagoon and Linoon growled and barked. Some even tried to hit the tree, in hope that the girls would fall. The boy was about to run that way when he heard another scream, more manly this time. He looked at the girl quizzically.

"Go help those girls." she answered, climbing onto her Tropius again. "I'll go check on that other scream."

"Yes ma'am!" the boy replied, turning around.

"Ray, be careful!" the girl shouted.

The boy stopped, turned around, smiled and answered:

"Aren't I always?" he replied. One look from the girl was all the answer he needed. "Okay, maybe not _always_, but a good deal of the time. Don't worry!" And he ran off.

With a smile, the girl on the Tropius took off once more and searched for the source of the seconds scream.

--XXXXX--

"Crap! They just don't give up!" May cursed.

"What if... what if they reach us?" Sara asked, hugging the Ralts tightly.

"Do you really want me to answer?"

"..."

"That's what I thought."

"Hey, someone's coming!"

May turned her head towards where Sara was pointing. Sure enough, a boy was coming. He was dressed in a short-sleeved brown shirt that, while not too tight, still showed off some of his muscles. He had long brown shorts that came to midway between his legs and his feet. He had spiked brown hair, not unlike Jake's. From the distance, the girls couldn't see his eyes, but his general built and face made him a very handsome boy. Both girls stared at him dreamily.

"Shelgon, Metang, divide and conquer!" the boy shouted, his deep and powerful voice echoing through the forest as he released two Pokémon. The first was a white football-like creature standing of four short legs, while the second was a tank-like construct with two powerful arms.

As if rehearsed, the two Pokémon attacked the tormenting Zigzagoon and Linoon from different flanks. The Shelgon breathed some strange green and yellow blast of fire towards the ones to the girl's right, burning and incapacitating a good bunch. From the left, the Metang's claws glowed bright, and he slashed his way through his enemies. In a few moments, most of the Pokémon were fainted, and the rest ran away.

"Great job, guys!" felicitated the boy as he recalled his Pokémon. "Now take a rest."

When his Pokémon were safely inside their Pokéballs, the man raced with great speed towards the tree were the girls were. He stopped at the trunk, leaning into it for support, and shook his head, as if to dispel some foul memory. Then, he raised his head and shouted:

"It's okay! Come on down!"

The girls exchanged glances, then May dropped to the ground. Sara soon followed, and the girls faced their saviour.

"Humn, thanks..." Sara said, blushing and looking at the ground.

"Yeah... you really helped as out..." May added, also blushing. She was holding her wrists behind her back and had one leg a bit in front of the other.

"Not a problem..." said the boy. He suddenly started panting.

"Are you okay?" May asked, taking a step closer.

"Just... fine." the boy replied. Then, to the girls surprise, he collapsed. And, to add insult to injury, a new shout tore the air, definitely feminine.

* * *

So, a new chapter come and gone.

Damn! Almost kept my word! But unfortunately, it is 00:48 here in Rome, so it is actually Sunday. Sorry for the delay!

Wow. This story is coming fast. If two chapters in a week is good, how 'bout _five_? Haha! Take that, society!

Well, that sums up all I had to say. Remember to R&R

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	6. Never a Day of Peace

Hello there, readers!

First, I'd like to apologize for the delay. _If_ you checked my profile, which I'm pretty sure you haven't, you know that I was on a school trip from Thursday to Saturday. I wanted to have this chapter done by Wednesday, but I had that damned writer's block and couldn't do it. Sorry 'bout that.

Second, this chapter brings more adventure (jeez, is there a day without that?), a bit of humour and of course, more questions than answers.

Lastly, I'm not a really psychiatrist or anything like that, and I don't have much romantic experience, so the character's 'feelings' might be slightly...wierd.

Anyway, ready or not, here is the sixth chapter of LtL, MtM!

* * *

_**Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter 6: Never a Day of Peace  
**

"There, Tropius! Land near that tree!" commanded the sixteen-year-old girl.

Her Tropius obeyed, and soon enough they were landing in a wide clearing in the woods. On the middle of the clearing stood a tall tree filled with many Seedot. In the front of it, there were about a dozen Seedot fighting against a fainted Mudkip and a Charmander that could barely stand. The two losing Pokémon were guarding two fainted bodies. The girl ran towards them as quickly as she could.

She was about midway through when she was tackled by one of the Seedot. With a silent curse, the girl pushed him off and continued her race. More Seedot approached, but her Tropius managed to keep them at bay. When the girl finally reached the boys, she gasped; one of them didn't look hurt, but the other's face was covered in blood. His nose looked like it was broken.

"_Can Seedot actually do that?"_ the girl asked herself. _"It'd take one nasty hit to the nose to break it like that…"_

"Tropius!" her Tropius shouted as seven Seedot climbed on his wings and weighed him down. The massive creature shook itself loose, but he was starting to tire from the chain of attacks. And to make things worse, more and more Seedot descended from the trees and joined the fight against the winged creature.

"Tropius! Hang on!" the girl shouted as she reached for another Pokéball. "Ninetails, help Tropius out!"

From the Pokéball emerged a fox-like creature with golden mane and nine tails (which probably gave him his name). The creature took one quick look at the situation before releasing a torrent of fire from his jaws, severely burning both the Seedot and the Tropius.

"Oh crap! Sorry 'bout that!" apologized the girl, returning her fainted Tropius. "Forgot you would get burnt as well… Tropius, return!"

Now the odds were more even. Ninetails was able to keep most of the Seedot away using his fire, and the girl had free and unhampered access to the boys. Kneeling besides the bleeding one, a slim boy with white hair, she withdrew a bandage and water from her pack and cleaned the blood as well as she could. Once that was done, she tore two small pieces of the bandage and inserted (with more than one groan of disgust) them into the boy's nostrils. Then, she got up and checked on the other boy.

This one was taller and had normal, non-freaky brown hair. One quick look was all it took to see that the boy was only unconscious, but not wounded. Not visibly, at least. If anything, he appeared to be sleeping. The girl deduced from self-experience that he probably suffered an Absorb attack. He would be fine.

Once _that_ was done, the girl checked on the Charmander. He was still blowing some weak Ember attacks to help Ninetails out, but the salamander appeared to be thoroughly exhausted. Searching through the second boy's belt, the girl retrieved a Pokéball and recalled the Fire type.

But, of course, fate, being the selfish bastard it was, couldn't allow everything to proceed smoothly and without problems. So, something had to go wrong. And that something came in the form of a lone Seedot that managed to go around Ninetails' fire. When the golden fox saw the Seedot, he instinctively breathed fire in that direction. Unfortunately, that direction turned out to be the same in which the girl and the unconscious boys were. And, in the space of a second, things went _very_ bad.

The girl screamed as the fire burned the Seedot and continued on its way towards her. Acting out of instinct, the girl threw herself on the ground. The fire passed over her head, incinerating her backpack and all its contents.

"Oh man! That's where I kept all my money!" complained the girl, quickly taking the burning backpack off to avoid any burns.

"Nine…" the Ninetails muttered, looking at the ground in shame.

"Ah, don't sweat about it. I can just buy another." comforted the girl. Then, in a lower tone, she added. "If I can find any money…"

It was then that the girl heard a groan form the ground. She quickly looked down, and noticed one of the boys was waking up. The tall one, to be precise.

"Hey? Are you okay?" she asked, unmoving, as she turned her gaze back to the fight.

"I would be much better," the boy said, gritting his teeth. "if you weren't crushing my hand."

"What?" asked the girl, looking down. Sure enough, she was stepping on the boy's left hand. "Ooops, sorry…"

"It's okay…" said the boy, opening and closing his hand to see if it still worked. Then, he looked around. "Why the hell is Brendan laying on the ground? And why is his nose broken?"

"Dunno." answered the girl, shrugging. "When I got here, you were both out."

"Just freaking great." the boy muttered, rubbing his eyes. "The name's Jake, by the way."

"I'm Minna."

"Pleasure to meet you."

"Equally."

"Have you seen my Charmander, by any chance?"

"I recalled him to his Pokéball. He was almost out."

"Really? Thanks. Remember me to thank Scorch when he's better."

"Who's Scorch?"

"My Charmander. It's his nickname."

"Not very original, but still nice."

"I know. That's the charm."

"So, Jake, what are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same."

"I asked first."

"I'm a polite guy. Ladies first."

"Well, if you insist on knowing, I'm saving you."

"Oh? Well then, I guess I'm in your debt."

"Yeah, I guess you are. But now answer my question."

"Urgh…" groaned the second boy, opening his eyes. "If this is Heaven, I wanna go to Hell."

"There's no ice cream in hell." said the first boy.

"Maybe, but the pizza's always warm." replied the second.

"True enough. But there's no pools."

"There are many saunas."

"There's no lemonade."

"There's beer."

"Yeah, I guess Hell's better."

"Finally you're listening to reason."

"Humn, excuse me?" Minna asked, recalling her Ninetails. On the battlefield, all the Seedot were out for the count. "But I must go."

"Oh? Where to?" Jake asked.

"I gotta find a guy. He went to save two girls in a tree."

"Two girls? Both brunette, one dressed in red and the other in a blue shirt and red-brown skirt?"

"Yeah! You know them?"

"More than it is healthy to." the second boy said. "Look what they did to my nose."

Minna gasped. "_They_ did that?"

"Course not. I was kidding." replied the white-haired boy, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "It was the wind."

"May hit you, right?" Jake asked. "Brendan, Brendan, Brendan, when will you learn? If you want to piss someone off, you gotta at least be able to get away with it."

"Hey!" Minna shouted, shaking her arms to get the boy's attention. "Let's go find the girls, and _then_ we can chat, okay?"

"Fine." Jake said, and they began to move. Looking behind him, the boy noticed Brendan, who wasn't moving. Instead, he was looking at Minna's back, drooling slightly.

"Urgh! Move on!" Jake ordered, pushing Brendan forward. "Stop daydreaming."

"What?" Brendan asked, shaking his head. "I wasn't daydreaming! I was… day-thinking?"

"She's too old for you."

A few feet in front of them, Minna could barely contain her laugh. They continued on their way towards where Minna had left Ray.

--XXXXX--

"Argh! What do we do?" Sara asked, panicking. "What if he's hurt? And what was that other scream? Oh, maybe he's dead!"

It had been quite a surprise when their unexpected savior, the sixteen-year-old boy, had suddenly fainted in front of the girls. After a quick check, May discovered that he was burning up with fever. And the scream that they had heard not long ago wasn't helping to calm their nerves. Now, Sara was sitting on the ground, hugging the Ralts so tightly it was becoming slightly blue, and May was walking around nonstop.

"It's okay, it's okay…" May said, more to herself than to Sara. She stopped for a second, then continued on pacing around nervously.

"What should we do?"

"Don't ask me! I DON'T FREAKING KNOW!"

"MAY! Chill!"

"Okay… I'm chilled." May said as she breathed deeply. "I'm chilled."

After a short argument, the girls decided to stay where they were and... well, that they'd decide latter. But, for the time being, the girls focused on getting the fainted boy better. May took off her bandana and wet it using some of their water, then deposited the soaked cloth on the boy's forehead. That being taken care of, the girls allowed themselves to relax and chat for a bit. Which soon enough led to an argument.

"Who do you think is cuter?" May asked. "Jake, Brendan, that Ruby guy from T.V., or this guy?"

"Oh, I don't know..." Sara answered, looking down and twirling her fingers. "I guess this guy's cute, but Brendan's cute too... Oh no. Please tell me I didn't say that out loud!"

Once again, May was assailed by that rush of feelings. In order to keep appearances up, she forced a fake laugh, but underneath her mind was sprinting. Could she really like Brendan? Of course, it did make some sense. They had been travelling together for... four days? Five days? Well, it seemed like much longer, anyway. And Brendan had always been the lesser of two evils. Okay, maybe not _always,_ but most of the time. And back at the temple, it was him that had saved her from that mean Team Thunder dude. If it hadn't been for him...

"May? Are you okay?" Sara asked, looking up from the ground. May could see she was still blushing a bit. Once more, a pang of jealousy hit her, but the girl shook her head and dismissed it aside. "You seem... rather thoughtful."

"Humn? Oh, sure, I'm fine!" May hurriedly answered. "I was just thinking about... the question! That's all."

"Oh, really? Well, who do _you_ think is cuter?"

"Oh, I dunno... Either Ruby or this guy... No, definitely this guy. Ruby freaks me out."

Sara was about to reply when some nearby bushes rattled. Shutting up and looking at it at once, their eyes wide, the girls prepared to shout as loud as they possibly could.

"Wing?" asked a beaked face, emerging from the plant.

The girls screamed.

--XXXXX--

"Ouch! What was _that_?" Jake asked.

"Some idiot's Zubat using a Screech attack, I bet." Brendan answered, shaking his head to dispel the remains of the super-high-pitched blast of sound they had just heard. "Man, that's the hell of a Zubat."

"No doubt about it. I'm still dizzy." Minna commented. "In fact, I'm st-"

Whatever the rest of her sentence was, it was lost in the Bottomless Void Of Sentences Lost Due To Unexpected Interruptions (which, even being infinite, was almost full), for an unexpected interruption came. It took the form of a Wingull flying in full, all-out speed, as if running away from something… Whatever the reason for his speed, the long-winged, white and blue seabird hit Brendan in the face, barely missing impaling the boy with its beak. Still, it's not pleasant to have a racing Wingull hitting a broken nose.

"AHHH!" Brendan roared, part in shock, part in disbelief, but mostly in pain.

"Wing!" the Wingull screeched back, part in pain, part in disbelief, but mostly in shock.

"AH!" Minna screamed, part in shock, but mostly in disbelief.

"Why all the screaming?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you trying to make a chorus? If so, you need some practice."

"Cursed… Wingull!" Brendan said, pushing the bird away and clutching his own bleeding nose. His voice was shaky. "Man, this hurts!"

"Wing…" the Wingull said, looking at the ground. It looked like the bird was apologizing.

"Here, let me see." Minna softly ordered, removing Brendan's hands to better see the wound. "In the trail like this, there's not much I can do. We need to get you to a decent hospital. Or a Pokémon Center, at least. But, in the meantime, I think I have something to soothe the pain."

The girl searched a bit on her pockets and drew a round, red and white object that looked an awful lot like…

"A Pokéball?" Brendan nearly shouted, trying not to cry. "A freaking Pokeball!?"

"Yeah." the girl replied nonchalantly, shrugging. "I thought you'd feel better if at least you at least got a Wingull outta this. Well, apparently, I was wrong…" And she began to turn the Pokéball around in her hands. "Maybe I should just put this away, then."

Brendan looked at the Pokéball, then at the Wingull, then back at the Pokéball, than at Minna's face (for longer than he should), before finally wiping his eyes with the back of his hand and saying (or more like ordering):

"Give me that!" And taking the Pokéball.

"Okay, Wingull, prepare to be caught! Pokéball, go!" the boy shouted, hurling the round object towards the Wingull. The bird was too busy looking at something on the other side of the clearing to notice, and was easily sucked inside. After the ball rocket back and forth a few times, it became still.

"That was easy." Jake noted. "A bit _too_ easy, I must say."

"Tell me about it." Brendan replied, reaching for the Pokéball. "But I caught a Wingull!"

"Told ya!" Minna said, smiling. "Now, didn't you forget the pain?"

"I _had..._" Brendan groaned. "But thanks _sooo_ much for reminding me."

The girl rolled her eyes. "Hey, you should be _thanking _me. If I wanted, I could just let you two to be eaten by a bunch of wild Seedot, but-"

"Seedot are herbivore."

"_No_, I got in there and I saved you. And what do I can in return? Just a bunch of insults and complaints!"

"Excuse me? When did I ever insult you?"

"Humn, guys?" Jake interrupted. "But it seems like we have a bigger Absol on our way."

The two bickering souls stopped their bickering and looked at where Jake was looking. Sitting against a tree up ahead, they could see May and Sara arguing about something. By their feet stood a… body?

Minna's eyes grew wide. "Ray!" she shouted, racing towards the people.

"Just freaking great. Can't things actually _work out_ for a change?" Brendan asked.

"If they did, life would be fair." Jake answered.

"Good point."

And the boys raced forwards as well.

--XXXXX--

"So, are you saying Magikarp _are_ worth training?" May asked in disbelief.

"Hey, I'm only saying they're worth the investment." Sara answered, shrugging. She was currently passing a Pokéball from one hand to the other, celebrating her newest (and first) capture. Actually, the Ralts they were with _joined_ her on its free will, but still. "After all, a Gyarados is a very tough Pokémon."

"Yeah, but it's not worth training a Magikarp. They're useless!"

"Maybe you think so, but… Hey, are those the boys?"

"What?"

The girls got up and looked at the trees in front of them. Sure enough, Brendan and Jake were running towards them, followed by a girl. She appeared to be sixteen years old, dressed in a short blue skirt and a short-sleeved golden blouse. Her blonde hair cascaded its way down to the middle of her back, and even from the distance the girls could she her impossibly clear blue eyes.

Jake was the first to reach them. Making sure to ignore the girls, the bent down near the fainted body and looked for any sign of grave wound. Only when his inspection was done was when he turned to the girls and asked them what had happened.

The girl came next. Jake introduced her as Minna, and the latter told all of them that the boy was called Ray. May looked around for Brendan, and soon found him leaning against a tree, watching from a distance. As soon as the boy noticed her stare, he turned his face and appeared to be very interested in a leaf. Guilt flooded the girl, and she looked at the ground.

"Oh my god! Ray!" Minna was saying over and over again, kneeling near the body and hugging him around the neck. "Ray, Ray, Ray!"

"It's okay…" Sara said, placing her hand on the crying girl's shoulder. "He has just a little fever…"

Minna's eyes grew wide at Sara's words. She immediately stopped crying (actually, she stopped moving altogether) and asked, in a very low voice:

"Did you say fever?"

Taken aback by the sudden change of attitude, Sara mumbled a small "Yes…" before looking at the ground, wondering if she had done anything wrong.

"Why? Is something wrong?" asked Jake, raising an eyebrow.

Minna didn't even bother to answer. She just nodded weakly and looked sadly at the boy at her feet. Then, she burst into tears once more.

"It's okay, it's okay…" comforted May, patting the sixteen-year-old on the shoulder. "What exactly is wrong? Tell us, and maybe we can help you."

"It's…" the said girl asked, swallowing hard. "Some time back, Ray had a bad fever. And I mean _bad._ He had to stay in bed for a week…" She stopped, took a deep breath and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "He barely made it. But after a lot of rest, he was as good as new… or so I thought. And this is my fault! If I hadn't hurried him to come with me to Lilycove City…"

"Blaming yourself won't do a thing." Jake interrupted harshly, almost as if he was angry. "What's done is done, whether your fault or not. What we have to do now is focus on getting Ray to the nearest hospital. And Brendan needs a clean-up. After that, you can beat yourself up with guilt as much as you want."

Everyone was slightly shocked at the change, but thought it was best not to comment. Minna got up and reached for her backpack, only to find none. She sighed and looked around, asking for a map. When Jake gave her one, she sat down on the ground and began looking for the nearest town. Not long after, she got up and spoke.

"Okay." the girl said, depressed. "The nearest hospitals are in Oldale Town and Petalburg City, both at about a day's travel. A bit longer 'till Oldale, maybe. But it would still take hours to reach Petalburg City, and my Tropius is out…"

Everyone shot glances between themselves, looking for any solution. A long silence came and went before Brendan approached the group and spoke, making sure not to look at May.

"Why don't we call the hospital? Maybe they'd send a Kadabra or maybe a Tropius. Or a car, at the very least."

"Could work…" Minna admitted. "But my phone was in my backpack, and…"

"You can use mine." the white-haired boy replied, extending his own phone. "Do you know the number?"

The blonde girl accepted the phone with a small nod and a 'Thanks.'. After dialing a few numbers, she quickly resumed their situation to whoever was at the other side of the line and hang up. Barely seconds after, a humanoid, biped fox-like creature carrying a spoon on its right hand materialized out of thin air.

"Dabra, kadabra dabra!" the creature said, looking around.

Surprised by the sudden apparition, the four young kids didn't have time to move before Minna laid one of her hands one of Ray's, the other on the Kadabra, and shouted 'Thank you!' before the three dematerialized into thin air.

Everybody was stunned for a long time after they were gone. It took a long moment before May snapped out of the trance and turned to Brendan, looking at the ground.

"Humn, Brendan?" she said. "I'm sorry. I really am. You know I didn't mean to hurt you!"

"We've been through this already!" Brendan replied angrily. "And I _really_ don't want to go through it again!"

"But-"

"NO! Just leave me alone, dammit!"

"Brendan…"

"Go. AWAY!"

The red-clad girl tried her best to hold the tears in, but ultimately failed. She began to cry, tears running down her cheeks. Sara took the bigger girl in a hug while shooting Brendan a reproachful look. Jake didn't seem to listen. In fact, he didn't even seem to be paying attention. Instead, he was looking at the ground, focusing on something.

"Brendan." the older boy said, not looking up. "She's right. You know she didn't meant to hurt you."

"What!? Didn't you hear-" Brendan started, but was interrupted.

"I've heard it all too well, my friend. And you know what I mean. She didn't mean to _seriously_ injure you. She did not want to break your nose."

"Then why'd she _do_ it? Why'd she _insist_ on kicking me like that?"

"Why do you insist on having a sarcastic remark to everything that is said or thought?" Jake replied, shrugging. "They're small habits that define us, that make each of us different, _unique._"

Brendan sighed and squeezed his eyes before speaking. "…How come you're always right when it makes me miserable?"

"Easy. Everything makes you miserable. Now apologize."

May and Sara, who had been so far watching the conversation, waited expectantly for the boy's reaction. Slowly, almost regretfully, the said person turned around to face them. Taking a quick look at May's eyes before shifting his gaze to the ground, Brendan spoke.

"I'm sorry. I guess it wasn't really fair for me to get mad at you like that. Actually, it probably was, but still. I guess I overreacted a bit…"

"Oh, Brendan!" May shouted, throwing herself at a very surprised Brendan and hugging him tightly. "I'm sorry too…"

After a few seconds, they broke the hug. Brendan was looking _extremely_ uncomfortable, while May just kept staring at the ground. Jake was smiling disturbingly and Sara… was uncertain. On one side, the awkward seen was funny, but the girl wasn't comfortable seeing May hanging around her Breny like that.

"_That's ridiculous!"_ Sara thought to herself. _"May can't like Brendan! They're so… different…"_

"_Can I really like Brendan?" _May wondered. _"As much as I _hate_ the thought, it seems to keep on getting stronger… Damn, love is so complicated!"_

"Dude, _stop_." Brendan said to Jake, who was still smiling. "You know that smile freaks me out."

"Good. It's supposed to." the older boy replied.

"So, back to walking?" May asked, suddenly merry. "Only one more day to go!"

"Yeah. And hopefully nothing else will happen 'till we get to Petalburg." Jake added. "I mean, come on! We've been on the road for… what? A week now? And out of those seven days, on which did we sleep peacefully, after a calm and eventless day?"

"Knowing our luck, my nose will become infected, May will break a wrist after punching a tree, you're gonna get eaten by blood-thirsty Seedot, and Sara will get kidnapped." Brendan said.

"Yeah… and then-" Sara began, but stopped and blushed when Brendan looked at her.

And so the group went on their way. Jake in front, calmly ignoring everyone else, Brendan shouting at Sara, May shouting at Brendan, and Sara… thinking.

* * *

That was the sixth chapter. Enjoyed it? I hope you did.

I'd like to take a moment and thank all of you, readers, for... well, reading. I'd also like to thank Quota and kiba129 for their reviews. And kiba129, as a matter of fact, I am a fan of Douglas Adams' writtings. He's my humor idol when it comes to literature. Even though I'm not as good as a tenth of him (even with him being dead, may he rest in peace), it's nice to be compared to him like that. Thank you.

Yay! Quota, you're officialy my first regular reviewer. Thanks so much!

Once more, I apologize for the delay. I'll try to have another chapter up by Tuesday, but no promises.

So, gotta go now. Remember to R&R!

And remember to visit my profile page and vote in the poll (you'll see when you're there!)! Each and every vote is appreaciated.

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	7. Sweet, But no Piece of Cake

Hello there, dear readers, and welcome to the seventh chapter of Less than Legends, More than Myths!

This story is approaching the 170 hits mark (it has 16_9_). Sincerely, I never thought I'd get this big. I thought it would get around 60 hits before no one cared about it anymore. But that didn't happen (did it?)

And I already have four reviews! A round of applauses for Quota and kiba129, everyone (but mostly for Quota; he/she reviewed three times :-) )!

In this chapter, there isn't much plot development (ah, who am I kidding? There is _no_ plot development whatsoever!), but there is a big bit of character development, so all of you who are development-lovers, be happy.

For all Hoenshippers, there is also a bit (and I reinforce the _bit_ part) of it here. And of course, just for Quota, we have another Jake vs. Pokémon battle! It isn't detailed at all, though. And I will tell you this: someone (or something, if you're that mean about Pokémon) wins!

Well, I'm rambling, so let's get the seventh chapter on the road!

* * *

**_Less than Legends, More than Myths_**

**Chapter 7: Sweet, But no Piece of Cake**

"So…" May said. "When should we get to Petalburg?"

"Let's see…" Jake replied, examining his map. "If we leave by dawn, we should be there a bit before noon."

The group had been walking for a few hours after May and Brendan had gotten over the nose-breaking incident and Minna had teleported away with Ray. Everyone was still slightly shocked by that, although Brendan did try to lighten the mood by saying "Man, that girl sure knows how to make an exit!". Now, they had found a nice clearing and decided to camp. Nightfall was still a couple of hours away, but everyone was exhausted from the day of excitement.

At this moment, May and Sara were trying to cook some stew, Brendan was off saying "I'm gonna find myself some real food. Or edible food, for that matter.", and Jake was examining his map to see the shortest way to Petalburg City, where May's father awaited them.

"More walking? Urgh, why can't we have a bicycle or something!" the red-clad girl complained.

"Humn, M-May?" Sara asked shyly. "The s-stew's burning…"

Recently, the younger girl had managed to get over some of her shyness. She actually talked when she was around May and Jake, although she still wasn't ready to talk to the boy alone or to Brendan, alone or not.

"What!?" the girl almost shouted, looking at her pot. Sure enough, the distinct smell of burning came from it. "Oh crap, crap, crap, crap!"

She struggled to get the pot away from the fire. Unfortunately, it was quite a big pot, and it was extremely hot. After suffering small burns on her hands, the girl cursed. Rolling his eyes, Jake got up, put his hands under his shirt and easily removed the pot.

"Thanks…" May muttered while Sara checked her burns. "Is it still eatable?"

"In my opinion, it never was." the boy replied. "But yes. It's a bit burnt, but still 'eatable'."

"Great! Dive in!"

"I think I'll pass, thank you very much."

"Hey, suit yourself!"

"Y-you sure… you don't wanna try?" Sara asked.

Jake just shook his hand dismissively and walked away. Shrugging, Sara grabbed plates and spoons from her backpack and soon the two girls were eating. Although it was hard to believe, the stew was actually good. It wasn't _great_ or anything, and it did taste burned, but it still was enjoyable.

"It's great, May!" Sara complimented. "You're really starting to get the hang of cooking!"

"You really think so?" May asked, looking like a little girl waiting for her father's approval. "Really?"

"Yep!" Sara answered, nodding. "You'll be a real chef in no time!"

"Bah! I doubt that!" Jake shouted over from over the other side of the clearing, where he was reading a book.

"Jerk." May muttered quietly. Even Sara could barely hear her.

"I heard that!" Jake said.

"Yeah, well, live with it!" the red-clad girl replied.

"That makes no sense."

"Not for you!"

"Not for anyone."

"Come here, you little vermin!"

"Ah, I'm so scared."

May got up from the ground and began to move towards the boy, her hands curled up into fists. Sara managed to grab her foot and call her back before any harm was done, though. With another quiet insult, the older girl sat back down. Together, the two girls finished the stew.

Soon after, Brendan came in, carrying many berries in his arms. He offered some to Jake and Sara (who blushed and didn't even answer) before sitting down near Jake and eating the fruit. Jake raised an eyebrow at him, then continued on with his reading. May and Sara spoke to each other in hushed whispers, and Brendan just ate. After a few minutes, he went to his bed. Sara soon followed, and so did May. A few hours later, Jake did the same. And they all dreamed on towards the next day of adventure.

--XXXXX--

As dawn broke over the horizon, the friends woke up and prepared to head out. Soon enough, they were back on the road. In order to give their Pokémon some exercise, the group released all their Pokémon. The five Pokémon looked at each other.

"**Hey! Look, new guys!" **Mud said, looking at Zigzy and Ralts. **"How you doin'?"**

"**Hey!" **Ralts greeted back merrily. **"So you're the rest of the team! My name's Ralts, and this here is Zigzy!"**

"'**Zup?" **the Zigzagoon said.

"**Nice to meet you! I'm Torchic, this blue dumbo here is Mud, and the weird salamander over there is Scorch."**

"**Catchy name, dude." **Zigzy said.

"**Thanks. I do try." **Scorch replied.

"**Oh, this is just so much fun!" **Ralts said. **"Finally, a chance to hang out with another girl!" **She began to spin around Torchic.

"**Well, if you consider Torchic a girl." **Mud said. **"I wouldn't be so sure."**

"**Take that back, you freaking blue blob!" **Torchic shouted back.

"**Hah! Make me, **_**little girl!**_**" **

Scorch, Zigzy and Ralts watched as Torchic did just that. She pinned Mud against a tree and began to peck him repeatedly until he took his words back. Ralts then jumped towards Torchic and hugged her, then began to dance around.

"**Yo, dude, you so got creamed, man!" **Zigzy said. **"Dude, squashed by a girl! What a wimp, dude!"**

"**Shut up!" **Mud shouted back. **"And quit it with all these 'dudes'! It's very annoying."**

"**Whatever floats your Lotad, dude!"**

"**Guys, quit it. Don't light your tails on fire." **Scorch interrupted.

"**What!?" **Mud and Torchic asked at the same time.

"**You know. Don't get angry."**

"**If you already forgot, **_**your**_** tail is on fire!" **Mud said, confused.

"**What!?" **Scorch looked at his tail. **"Oh man! My tail! Help! Help!" **And he started running around wildly, flapping his arms.

"**Woah!"** Torchic said. **"Serious case of déjà-vu!"**

The other Pokémon just looked at them, confused.

--XXXXX--

"Argh, Scorch's at it again!" Jake groaned, seeing his Pokémon run around wildly. "Scorch, grab a hold of yourself!"

Sara poked May in the ribs to get the older girl's attention. May rolled her eyes and leaned in closer. Sara whispered in her ear.

"What's up with Scorch?"

"Nothing. He just goes wild sometimes." the girl answered. "It's normal."

"If you say so…"

The friends continued on their path. True to Jake's words, they arrived at Petalburg City half an hour before noon. May immediately took the lead and guided the group through the city, all the while chatting excitedly.

"Oh, my father's so cool! He's the toughest Gym Leader _ever_! You'll see!" she said.

"I hate to interrupt you," Brendan cut in. "But I think we should go to the Pokémon Center first. There, we can get some rest. And I _really_ need some ice for my nose."

May stopped talking and looked at the ground, guilty. Even though Brendan had forgiven her, she still felt bad about the incident. Looking at the boy's face, she noticed his nose indeed was a tad swollen.

"Okay." she said, unusually softly. "Follow me, and you'll be there in no time!"

**Forty minutes latter…**

"Where is that freaking place!?" May shouted, frustrated.

"You don't even know where the Pokémon Center is?" Brendan asked in disbelief.

"Hey, I remind you that I'm new here! I only stayed in this damned city for a week, until my house was ready!" the girl shot back.

"Urgh. You know what? I'm not even gonna argue with you." Brendan said, squeezing his eyes.

"Dude, are you okay?" Jake asked.

May looked at Brendan. Sure enough, the boy looked a tad pale and tired.

"I'm fine." the white-haired boy replied, still squeezing his eyes. "Just a tad tired."

"Here, let me check." May said softly, putting a hand on the boy's forehead. It felt slightly warmer than usual. The girl bit her lip. "You got a fever. It's not much, though. You just need some rest." Then she added in a concerned whisper, "I hope…"

"I'm fine!" Brendan repeated, shoving the girl's hand away. "Jeez, why is everyone worrying about me like I'm a little baby?"

"Brendan." Jake said. "You're shaking."

True enough, Brendan was beginning to shake and shiver as if it was really cold. He took a deep breath and seemed to feel better.

"Where's the Pokémon Center?" he asked.

"I don't know…" May answered, looking at the ground. "But I promise you I'll find it!"

"Whatever…" the boy replied tiredly. "Let's just get moving already."

As May took the lead once more, everyone noticed she looked sad and guilty. Sara shot Brendan a disapproving look before blushing and trying to cheer May up. Jake and Brendan slowly got behind, so that they could have a private conversation.

"You're being mean." Jake said. "You're overreacting, you're angry, and you're lashing out at the nearest person. What's wrong, dude?"

"None of your business!" Brendan shot back.

"Brendan." Jake said calmly.

"Urgh! You want to know what's wrong? Fine, I'll tell you! My feet hurt from walking, my nose is killing me, I'm exhausted from all the action, and I miss home! There, I said it!"

"You gotta stop worrying. We're all tired. You know that."

"You don't know what it's like to miss home like this! With my father alone, I can't help but worry about him! What if he got hurt? What if he did something bad? You know how he is, Jake! And I just can't get myself to forget him!"

Jake seemed to be angry now. "Shut up. We all know what it's like."

"No you don't!"

"Yes we do. Maybe not in the same way, but we all have something like that."

"Yeah? How so?"

"Dude, I ran from home more than once. Remember? It was lucky enough that I managed to get away from home in time to get on this travel without my father seeing. You know what he'd do. I've already got too many scars."

"Okay, so maybe you have something to worry about. But what about May? Or Sara?"

"How can you say that? Dude, Sara got her house burned down by Team Thunder! I bet she misses it more than you could ever imagine. And May left her mother behind. From what I've seen, since her father was always away, they became pretty close. Do you think it's easy for her?"

"…"

"There. I hope you snap out of this mood of yours, 'cause you're being a huge jerk."

And Jake walked forward to catch up with the girls, leaving Brendan alone with his thoughts.

--XXXXX--

"There!" May shouted triumphantly, pointing at the Pokémon Center down the road. "Told ya I'd find it!"

"Nice. It only took you two hours." Brendan replied sarcastically. He looked horribly pale and was sweating.

The girl's excitement and triumph quickly vanished and were replaced with guilt and regret. She looked at the ground, depressed.

"Brendan." Jake said, shooting him a glance.

The white-haired boy sighed. Then, he said, "I'm sorry. It's just that I don't feel so good…"

"It's okay." May replied, seeming a bit happier. She looked at the boy and frowned. "We should hurry. You don't look so good either."

The boy just nodded weakly. They hurried on to the Center. As soon as they got there, they saw the typical front desk and the Nurse Joy standing there.

"Hey Nurse Joy!" May greeted.

"Hello there, kids!" the nurse greeted back. Then, she looked at Brendan and frowned. "My, you don't look so good. Are you okay?"

"Nope." the boy replied, shaking his head no. "My nose hurts, I feel very cold, and I wanna puke."

"Here." Nurse Joy said, giving him a key. "Go get some rest. The room number is 217. I'll call a doctor to see you,…?"

"Brendan. Thanks."

The white-haired boy took the keys and went to his room. May went with him, while Jake stayed behind and gave all the group's Pokémon to the nurse. Sara just stayed there, unsure of what to do.

"I'm off for a walk." Jake said, turning towards the door. "I'll see you later. Bye!"

"See ya…" Sara muttered distractedly.

The girl was now alone. She considered taking a bite at the cafeteria or going for a walk herself, but then she remembered Brendan. It was the least of respects to at least see how he was doing. Maybe they could chat for a while…

"_Stop that!" _the girl thought, shaking her head. _"First, he's just a friend, second, May's there too, and third, you can't even talk near him!"_

Sara knew that the first two arguments were weak, seeing as she somewhat wanted the first to change (she blushed at the thought) and that May's presence wouldn't hamper things at the least. If anything, it would help. But the third one was an undeniable thing, and she was quite satisfied with it. She shook her head once more and went to room 217.

Distracted as she was, she completely missed Nurse Joy ducking behind the counter and pulling out a telephone.

--XXXXX--

"What a disappointing town." Jake said to himself, walking around the streets of Petalburg City. It was now afternoon, and the sun was beginning to set over the horizon. "At least back home we could watch the grass grow. Ha! I remember all the competitions me and Brendan had about it…" he sighed and was lost in memories.

"Give me your money, punk!" he heard someone shout down the road. The sound was followed by a cry and the sound of a punch.

"Please…" he heard someone say weakly. The person mumbled something else, but Jake couldn't understand it. Then, another punch came.

Gritting his teeth, the boy sprinted down the road towards the sound. All around him, people passed like a blur, shouting some insults and worse things. After few seconds, he was at a dark, desolated alley. The road was a good way behind him. The alley was devoid of furniture except the odd road trashcan. In front of him stood three fourteen of fifteen year old guys dressed in black leather outfits. One of them, the bigger, was holding up a much smaller green haired boy dressed in a white shirt and long, black-purple pants by the shirt collar and punching him in the face and stomach. Behind the boy, a small, very frightened blue-haired girl dressed in a short black skirt that reached her knees and a long black pullover stood, whimpering against a road trashcan. She seemed unharmed.

Jake skidded in a stop not more than twenty feet away, panting and trying to recover his breath.

"Well, well, well!" the big teenager said, letting go of the green-haired boy and facing Jake. "Looks like we have a little hero on our hands!" He laughed, and the others copied him. "What are you gonna do, _big guy?_ Are you gonna call your mommy?"

"I don't wanna hurt you _that_ much." Jake replied with a smile. "She'd probably beat the living hell outta you. And I'm not kidding."

The teenager seemed offended by the comment. "Take that back, punk!" he shouted angrily.

"Bah! You're the one to talk! I'm not dressed in a stupid leather _costume_!"

"IT'S NOT A FREAKING COSTUME! IT'S A FREAKING LEGITIMATE OUTFIT, YOU PIECE OF CRAP!" The teenager seemed really pissed off. "HOW CAN NO ONE FREAKING SEE THAT!?"

"Hey, Boss!" one of the smaller bullies said. "The kids are getting away!"

Sure enough, the blue-haired girl was trying to pull to boy away. When everyone faced her, she froze and looked at Jake expectantly across from the boys.

"Stop picking on little girls!" Jake taunted, seeing the lone Pokéball one the Boss' belt. "Let's settle this like men! You and me, a battle, right now!"

The leader stopped for a bit, considering the offer. "Okay… I'm in!" He reached for the Pokéball. "Makuhita, go!"

Jake ushered a silent curse. Of all the possible Pokémon, why did it have to be a fighting type? With, a groan, he stepped forward and raised his fists, relaxing into his boxing stance.

"What the hell?" the leading bully asked. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Hey, I said a battle, not a Pokémon battle." Jake replied. "But seeing as you are so sure of yourself, why not make a deal? If I win, you let me and this two," He nudged his head towards the two kids, "Go. But if you win, I'll give you all my money and they will two, if they haven't already."

The bully considered the offer. The two kids that Jake was saving were actually shouting insults and threats at him for gambling their money. Jake ignored them. It was a useful talent he had developed staying near one of his earlier friends, Earl Jankins. The kid was nine years old while Jake was six and was the biggest swearer and insulter Jake had ever met. Luckily, he had moved away to another city that Jake couldn't remember

"Okay." the bully leader finally answered. "You against Makuhita. But you are gonna get crushed!"

"Bring it on!" Jake shouted back, laughing inside.

--XXXXX--

"So, how are you feeling?" May asked.

"Not very good." Brendan answered.

Sara was currently outside room 217, eavesdropping on the two. She figured that if she got inside and was too shy to speak, Brendan would get mad at her like he always did, so why not just stay outside and help everyone? It made her a bit sad to think this way, but it was true.

She heard the sound of coughing inside, then Brendan's voice.

"Here, let me help…" May proposed, then the sound of pillows moving came. Soon after, it died down.

"Thanks…" Brendan thanked, then coughed. His voice sounded weak.

"Oh, Brendan…" May said, sounding sad and guilty. "I'm so sorry…" Then came the sound of crying.

"Hey, hey, cheer up, girl!" Brendan comforted awkwardly. "I'm not mad at you or anything! I guess I sorta had it coming. It was my fault. Plus," Sara could almost feel him smile, "It wasn't the first time you kicked me and it for sure won't be the last. Don't sweat about it. It's cool, girl. Humn. Never called you a girl before. Wonder why."

May laughed. "Oh, Brendan, you sure know how to cheer a girl up!" Then came the sound of a chair being pushed backwards and pillows being pressed.

"Urgh, May, you're crushing me! Stop! Help!" Brendan said, his voice stronger and more cheerful than before.

Sara felt a wave of jealousy wash over her. Inside the room, May was hugging by _her_ Breny, _after breaking his nose,_ and here she was, stuck outside the room because she was too shy even to _speak_ near him! Still, it _did_ make her happy to see how nice Brendan was. Nice, handsome, brave, smart, funny…

She was snapped out of her thoughts by the sound of pillows shifting again and a little giggle. She focused once more.

"Are you feeling better?" May was asking.

"As a matter of fact, I am. The sickness, or whatever it is, is a tad better. But then again, it's quite possible you just broke some of my ribs, so that evens things up." Brendan answered.

May laughed once more. Then she let out a small, happy sigh and Sara heard the sound of a chair being pulled backwards again.

"Well, I'd better leave." May said. "The doctor's bound to be here soon, and I want to get some food at the cafeteria before it closes down for the night. Do you want anything?"

"Yeah. Ask them if they have turtle soup."

"Ok…"

Sara jumped backwards just in time to avoid getting hit by the door when it opened and May stepped out. She saw Sara and frowned for a moment, but shook her head, closed the door and smiled brightly.

"Sara! Do you want to talk to Brendan?" She rolled her eyes. "Or try, at least."

"I wish I could…" the smaller girl answered, looking at the ground, blushing. "But each time I think of him, I just go… blank."

May smiled again, but Sara could feel she was slightly… disturbed. Before the younger girl could ask why, she shook her head again and looked at Sara.

"Well, I'm off to the cafeteria." she said. "Care to join me?"

Sara took a quick look at the door, before letting out a defeated sigh and shrugging. "Sure, why not. Couldn't do any harm."

"Hey, you'll get over your shyness someday. And then, you'll be able to behave like a normal person."

"Haha. Very funny. But what a dream that'd be…"

May rolled her eyes and together they headed for the cafeteria.

--XXXXX--

"NO FREAKING WAY! YOU FILTHY… FILTH!" the bully shouted, seeing his Makuhita fly through the air and land at his feet, fainted.

"Ha! Take that!" Jake shouted back, wiping his hands against one another. "Time to keep your end of the deal. Let us go."

The bully growled, looked at the order and began barking others to leave. They all seemed depressed and angry. Then, the leader turn back to Jake.

"This isn't over!" he spat venomously. "No one messes with Earl Jankins and gets away with it!" And he left.

Jake stared at after him for a few seconds, blinking in disbelief, before laughing. After recovering, he approached the two kids.

"Hey there. I'm Jake." he said, extending his hand.

"I'm Jenifer…" the girl said, shocked at the recent events. "And this is Wally."

"Well, you're free to go now." Jake said, retreating his hand. "Nice meeting you."

And he left, running, before things became awkward.

* * *

Well, there it was. Hope you enjoyed it!

I'd like to thank you all for reading. I'd also like to thank the Academy, for all their support, my family, for always cheering me on (yeah right!), and all that Oscar-winning crap.

The next chapter should be out by Friday, Saturday tops, so I'll borrow a line from the Pokémon narrator guy/dude/person and say: stay tuned!

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	8. Wally, Jennifer and Surprise!

Welcome, dear readers! As promised, here is the 8th chapter of LtL, MtM, on Halloween day!

To celebrate the holiday, this is part of a double update. It's a rather short chapter, the shortest so far, but I wanted to have a particular ending, so I had to cut short. A pity. Anyway, as I was saying, double update. The first chapter is this one, which continues the storyline normally. The second one is a Halloween special!

Thanks for all of you who read and/or reviewed! So, get ready, get set, and read!

_**

* * *

Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter 8: Wally, Jennifer, and Surprise!**

"How's he doing, Doc?" May asked to the man in a white coat standing in front of her.

"He's going to be fine." the man answered. "He just had a light infection on his nose. He needs a few days of rest and some antibiotics, but he'll be as good as new."

"That's very good to hear!" the girl squeaked excitedly, almost dropping the bowl she was carrying on the ground.

"Well, it's okay to talk to him now," The doctor stepped away from the door of room 217, allowing May and Sara to pass. "So just go ahead. I should be back tomorrow at noon to give him some meds, so I'll see you girls then."

"See ya!" May shouted, waving her hand.

"Are you coming with me?" she asked, turning around to face Sara.

"Dunno…" the smaller girl answered, looking at the ground and touching her index fingers with one another. "What if he gets angry and yells at me again?"

"Then I'll stop him. Don't worry!"

Sara smiled. "Thanks, May."

"Hey, that's what friends are for, right?" the red-clad girl replied, pushing the door open with her free hand and stepping inside.

The room was rather dark, seeing as the only source of light came from the draped windows. Near a corner, there was a bunk-bed, with someone on the lower bunk. Seeing the entering girls, the boy smiled and greeted them.

"Howdy, girls! Here to see the amazing Brendan?"

"You wish!" May replied with a laugh. "Here, I brought you some soup."

She handed him the plastic bowl and spoon. He took off the lid and sniffed it. "Is this turtle soup? They actually had it?"

"Yep! Weird, humn?"

"Hey, I'm not complaining." He began to play with his spoon. "Come here, little soup! I won't hurt you… yeah, closer… closer… YEAH! GOT YA!"

May shot him a weird glance, while Sara tried to do the same, but ultimately failed.

"You're such a baby!" The older girl finally said.

"Hey, everyone's got their habits, right?" The boy replied. "It's not like you're perfect either. Girl. Hehe."

May rolled her eyes while Sara giggled.

"Yeah! Far from it!" the younger girl said.

At once, everyone turned at her. The girl's eyes grew wide and she blushed wildly before looking at the ground.

"Girls…" Brendan muttered, rolling his eyes. "Hehe."

--XXXXX--

"Ahh, typical Hoennian food. That's the stuff!" the boy spoke to himself as he left the restaurant. "No one can beat that."

He began to slowly walk down the road towards the Pokémon Center. Soon, he passed in front of the Gym, and he realized three things.

First, May still hadn't seen her father, despite being at the city for several hours now.

Second, he really had to get back to the Pokémon Center. He had been away for long enough.

Third, he was lost.

At the current moment, the third realization seemed like the most important one. The boy re-adjusted his trusty cap, reached for his trusty backpack and drew his not-so-trusty map. He focused on the 'Petalburg City' section, glancing at the miniature map they had about the city.

"_Huh. Could have used this to find the Pokémon Center." _the boy thought, then shrugged. _"Well, too late now."_

After turning the map around several times, he came an educated guess of his approximate position, and began to move down the road he came from.

--XXXXX--

"So…" May began, looking around the room. "Do you think we should go to the hospital?"

"Last time I checked, I was doing fine." Brendan replied sarcastically. "But hey, I'm sick. What do I know?"

"No, you dumb-o!" May said, rolling her eyes. "I meant to look for Minna and Ray! I wanted to see if they're doing okay…"

"Oh. In that case… yeah right! You just wanna see Ray again, don't you?"

May blushed. "Not at all! I just wanna make sure he's okay, that's all…"

Brendan rolled his eyes. Sara poked May and whispered something to her. The older girl listen, nodded and then turned to the boy, rolling her eyes.

"Sara wants to know if you want to see Minna again." she said.

"W-what!?" Brendan asked, surprised by the question. He blushed and thanked Arceus for the darkness in the room. "Course not! Why would I?"

Contradictorily to what he thought would happen, the girls let the subject drop, although they did look disturbed.

"_Does he actually like Minna?" _May wondered, then shook her head. _"Either way, why do I care? It's just a passing crush, anyway…"_

"_Brendan likes Minna?" _Sara thought, worried and slightly annoyed. _"What does she have that I don't? Maybe he likes older girls… but then he'd never fall for me!"_

"So, what are you two going to do now?" Brendan asked, trying not to let the two girls finish their thoughts, should it be harmful to him in any way. "I'm pretty much locked inside the Pokémon Center for a few days, but that doesn't mean you can't go anywhere."

"You're right." May said, getting up. "I bet there's something nice to do in this town, like - Holly crap! I completely forgot about Dad!"

"Jeez, May. Remember me never to ask you to do something important for me."

"Haha. Very funny. C'mon Sara! Let's go see my dad!"

Sara's eyes grew wide as May took her hand and pulled her out of the room. When she had recomposed herself enough to act again, she was already outside the Pokémon Center and heading down a street. The younger girl tried to resist May's grasp, but the red-clad girl was a good deal stronger and pulled her all the way to the Gym, which she found without major incidents. When they were there, May let go of Sara's hand and rushed inside, leaving the other girl panting in the middle of the street. Grudgingly, she followed her friend inside, one step at a time.

--XXXXX--

"Oh, come on!" Jake nearly shouted, causing many people to look at him. He toned down his voice. "I've passed this same road four times. _Four_. Useless map!"

He violently folded his map back and threw it inside his backpack. He then took a deep breath to calm himself, then thought of a way to chose the best way to go. He reached into his pocket for a coin, but found only an old gum, some useless paper and… a piece of tire.

"What the hell?" he wondered. "How do these things keep showing up in my pocket? I don't write, I don't eat gum and I certainly do not carry a piece of tire around!"

Frustrated, he threw the things at the road. Squeezing his eyes for a moment, he took another deep breath. When he opened his eyes, he saw the Gym at a distance.

"_Well, I guess I could ask for some information there…" _he thought, then began to walk that way.

He was about midway through when he was blocked off by a merchant wheel-cart. The salesman, a sickly thin old man with rotten teeth, took a quick good at the boy, then smiled.

"Well, hello there, son!" he said, as if he had known Jake for as his life. "Would you be interested in buying some RavingRanch Poké-Rations for a discount price? Or maybe some Wailord Seals to water each and every one of your plants? Or maybe some Kecleon Gum, guaranteed to make your tongue transparent?"

Each time he offered a product, he pushed the said object into the boy's hands. Soon, Jake's hands were filled with a variety of goods, none of them useful and all of them expensive.

"No, thanks." the boy replied, pushing the stuff back. Then, his eye caught a glint of something shining in the cart. The boy took a closer look, than realized it was a necklace. Not bad, with a gold-painted heart as an embellishment. "Actually, I take that back. How much for the necklace?"

"What necklace?" the salesman asked, taking the stuff back. He glanced at the same necklace Jake had seen, and a evil grin crossed his face. "Well, that, my friend, is on a great sale. Buy it now for only 15,000 PokéDollars! It is worth about 50,000 normally, but you seem like a nice kid. What d'you say?"

"_Are you freaking kidding me? 15,000 PokéDollars for this worthless piece of painted metal? Well, go burn in hell, you freaking anemic thief !"_ shouted the voices inside Jake.

"Still seems a bit too much…" the boy replied thoughtfully, keeping his calm. "But man! She'd really like it…"

"Well, I can always make another haggle…" the merchant said, feeling like he had a chance of a sale. Jake smiled inside. "Let's see… 12,000 PokéDollars."

"12,000, huh? Is there any way to make a trade? Say, a few potions and something of value, plus 5,000 PokéDollars. Would that be okay?"

"Something of value, huh… show me what you've got, kid."

The boy reached inside his backpack and searched around it for a while. Finally, he came out with a golden nugget he had found digging at his farm. It was a small piece of brute ore, but it was still worth something. And it was gold.

The merchant was immediately transfixed by the object. He was actually almost drooling. Jake handed him the nugget, two Potions and the promised 5,000 PokéDollars (which was pretty much all of his savings), took the necklace and left. Turning around, he saw that the merchant was still looking at the nugget like it was solid gold. Which it was, when you think of it.

Fumbling with the necklace in his hands, Jake continued on his way to the Gym. It was his experience that having a last-resort gift was always good. That way, if it was someone's birthday or a great opportunity, he didn't have to go through the bother of not having anything to give. He put the shiny object in his pocket and walked the remaining of the way towards the Gym.

--XXXXX--

"Dad!" May shouted, racing ahead and hugging a very surprised man. "Oh, I've missed you so much!"

"May? Is that you?" the man replied, pleasantly surprised. He hugged his daughter back and spun her around. "I've missed you too!"

At that time, Sara walked in. She saw May hugging a tall man with short black hair and beard, wearing a black-striped orange shirt and black pants, whom she presumed was May's father. She also saw to kids, a bit older than her, who looked very surprised. One was a boy with green hair, with a cloth tied around his nose slightly bloodied, a white shirt and black pants, while the other was a girl with blue hair, a short black skirt and a long black pullover.

"Oh, daddy! How have you been doing?" May asked, still oblivious to the viewers.

"Excellent, May. In every battle here, I learn something new. It's really quite interesting. Reminds me of when I was a little boy." the man said, laughing. He then realized he was not alone. "Ahem. May, meet Wally, Jennifer and…?"

"Sara!" May shouted, answering the question. "Come here meet my dad!"

Blushing, Sara stepped forward. May's father looked her up and down before smiling and offering his hand. "You must be a friend of May's. I'm Norman Maple, May's father."

"Sara. Sara Stonemarch." Sara greeted back, shaking his hand and smiling. "I've only known May for a few day's now, so I wouldn't consider myself her friend…"

"Of course you're my friend!" May interrupted. "Don't talk like that."

"Sorry… thanks, May."

"Humn, Mr. Maple?" the green-haired boy called shyly. "I was wondering if… you k-know, if it wasn't a b-bother or anything… could w-we get-"

"Can you help us catch our Pokémon now!?" the girl nearly shouted. "Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!"

"Oh yes! I did promise you I would, didn't I?" Norman said thoughtfully. He turned to May and Sara. "Girls, this here are Wally and Jennifer. I promised them I'd help them catch some Pokémon, but seeing as you're here, I was wondering if you could do it for me. I'm sure you'll get along better, and they say that helping others is helping yourself."

"Oh, sure…" May said, sounding somewhat sad. But then she was cheerful again. "C'mon, Sara! Let's go help these guys get their Pokémon!"

"Okay…" Sara agreed slowly, nodding. "If that's what you want…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing at all."

May shot her a quizzical stare before turning to the others. "So, everyone! In case you haven't heard, my name's May Maple. I'm Norman's daughter!" She squealed in delight. "And this here is Sara. We've been travelling together for a few days now."

"I'm Jennifer!" the girl shouted in excitement, pushing the boy along as well. "And this is Wally! We're gonna get our first Pokémon today! Isn't that great?"

"Sure is…" Sara replied, rolling her eyes. May and Jennifer began to talk in excited, cheerful, painfully high-pitched voices, and led the rest of the group out of the Gym. This was gonna be a long day…

--XXXXX--

Finally, Jake pushed through the doors of the Gym. It had taken longer than it should have because the boy had thought he heard familiar voices down the street and considered chasing after them, but discarded the idea as 'too big a waste of energy'.

Inside, he found a lone man dressed in a striped orange shirt and black pants. Although Jake couldn't see any resemblance whatsoever, he deduced it was May's father, mostly from the fact that he was the only person actually _inside_ the Gym. The boy sighed and walked forward, wondering if he should revel himself as a friend of the man's daughter or not.

"Well, hello there!" the man greeted. "I am Norman Maple, the Petalburg City Gym Leader! And who might you be?"

"The name's Jake." Jake greeted back, shaking Norman's hand. After feeling the strength of the handshake, he made his choice. "I'm just looking for some information on how to get to the Pokémon Center."

"Oh, of course…" Norman replied, rubbing his chin. "Pokémon Center, Pokémon Center… You go down the road, then to the left… or was it _up_ the road? There was a roundabout somewhere… no, it was a U-turn…"

"Argh…" Jake quietly groaned. He then muttered to himself in a whisper, "Like father like daughter."

"Humn? You said something?"

"Nothing at all, sir."

--XXXXX--

"Well, here we are!" May announced as soon as the group had reached the edge of town. "Ready to go Pokémon catching?"

"Yes! More than ready!" Jennifer shouted. "Oh, this is gonna be _sooo_ much fun! Don't you think so, Wally?"

"W-what? Humn, sure…" the green-haired boy replied, grinning his teeth against the pain on his arm. For the entire trip, Jennifer had been attached to it like a leech. "Can you let me go now?"

"Oh yeah! So much fun! What are we waiting for?" the pullover girl continued, ignoring him.

"How is it," Sara asked, leaning in closer to May. "That it takes you two hours to get _into_ town, and ten minutes to get _out?_"

"Dunno." the senior girl replied, shrugging. "Outsider instinct, I guess."

"Outsider instinct?" Sara asked in disbelief. She was pretty much whispering into the wind, because May had raced ahead with Jennifer and they were back to their painful talk. And so was Wally, dragged by the arm. Sara felt bad for the boy.

"Can you _please_ let me go? Hey, Jenny, are you listening to me? Jennifer! JENNIFER!" Wally shouted.

That finally got the girl's attention. Surprised, she turned around to face the boy. "Jeez, no need to shout! What is it?"

"Could you…" Wally began, but Jennifer ignored him and turned back to May. "Oh, come on!"

Sara sighed. They walked for about thirty minutes into the woods, and all the town Wally kept screaming at Jennifer for letting his arm go. The girl would either ignore him or just plain not hear, so that got the boy nowhere. Finally, not being able to stand the shouting any longer, she decided to do something.

"Enough!" she shouted. Instant silence followed her words, and six eyes were now fixed upon her. The girl did her best to ignore them. "For Arceus' sake, just _let him go_!"

"Why do you care?" Jennifer shot back, rather aggressively.

"My ears can't take it any longer! Now let go of him!"

"No way! If I want to hold on to Wally, then I hold on to Wally!"

"You're killing the boy!"

"No I'm not! Just leave us alone!"

"Let. Him. GO!" Sara shouted, grabbing Wally's free arm. The boy's eyes went wide. "Now!"

"You let him go!" Jennifer replied, pulling on the arm she had. Sara copied her.

"GIRLS!" Wally shouted. "PLEASE, JUST _LET ME GO!_"

"C'mon! Won't you end this stupid confl-" May began, but was stopped as an explosion was heard far off and the ground shook. Jennifer let Wally's arm go, and Sara and the boy tumbled down rather awkwardly.

"Could you please get off me?" Sara asked, trying to push Wally off her. The boy blushed and complied, then helped Sara up.

"What was that?" Jennifer asked, scared. "Explosions don't just… explode… for no reason!"

"Oh, really?" May said sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Well, thanks for the enlightenment."

"Well, what should we do?" Sara wondered. "I think it would be best if we headed back to town…"

"No way!" disagreed May. "A bomb just went off in the middle of a forest, and you don't even want to know what happened?" Everyone shook their heads no. "Well, too bad for you, wimps! Let's go!"

She turned around and began to walk towards the direction of the sound. Slowly, the rest of the group followed. Wally and Jennifer stuck close to Sara, in case any danger came their way. After a few moments, the boy leaned in towards Sara and whispered in her ear.

"Why are we following her anyway?"

"Believe me, we'll be in more danger if we don't." Sara replied, shrugging. "She broke the nose of a guy we're travelling with. I'm not the one to risk my life and try to stop her."

"…"

"Yeah."

"What are you guys talking about back there!?" May shouted to them. "Hurry up!"

Looking up ahead, the trio realized that she had ran in front of them, and was now standing near a tree seventy feet away. With a sigh, Sara raced forward to meet her, and the other two followed her. When she was about midway through, she stopped suddenly, eyes wide in shock and fear.

"MAY!" she shouted at the top of her lungs. "WATCH OUT!"

"What?" May asked, looking around distractedly. It was too late when she finally saw the huge beam of golden energy coming her way. Fast, and deadly.

* * *

Yay! Cliff-hanger! Not a great one, but one netherless.

Thanks for all you readers, and get ready for the second part of the double update! The Halloween Special!

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	9. Halloween Special!

Ready? Here it is! The second part of the double update and my very own first Halloween special! Yay!

The 'spooky' stories _suck_. I will tell you that. I actually only remembered that today was Halloween _yesterday_, so I didn't have much time. Ahem.

This chapter can't be exactly placed on the storyline, but you will see that it is in a general period. The chapter itself can be completely skipped, since it is not necessary lecture, but believe me when I say it will have a _much_ deeper meaning. And you'll never figure it out... hehehe!

So, ready or not, here it comes!

**_

* * *

Less than Legends, More than Myths_**

**Bonus Chapter: Halloween Special!**

Halloween.

A day of tricks and treats, a day of scares and sitting around the campfire, telling horror stories to spook _friends._ A day of _fun_, fear and fright.

At this moment, four bodies sit around in a circle in the middle of a dark room. They are all already dressed in their nightclothes. Their backpacks and fanny packs are all packed up for the next day. Their beds have been assigned and are ready to be slept on. In any aspect, they are ready to fall into sleep. But they want to enjoy this night, and they decide that telling horror stories with a flashlight is the best way to do it.

One of them, a tall and muscular boy, rubs his chin thoughtfully, thinking about his story. His friends are all looking at him expectantly. Finally, he takes a deep breath and begins.

--XXXXX--

"Long, long ago, through great oceans and mighty deserts, there was a kingdom called Expodilian. It was a rather large kingdom, with a long family of kings and queens ruling over it. The town was prosperous, with much timber and deep mines. They had everything to be happy. But they weren't."

"It just so happened that the town had received both a blessing and a curse since its creation. Or rather, its creation _had_ been both a blessing and a curse. Baalor, the Legendary Pokémon of Shadows, had built that very town out of the essence of his very heart, wanting to create a kingdom he would rule. But things did not go as the Demon Lord had wished for, for like inside even the deepest shadow there is light, so was there good inside the terrible evil that gave origin to the town. Just as dark cannot exist without light, so evil could not be without good."

"And as such, some of the townsfolk rebelled against their lord. Secretly, they built a holy sanctuary and prayed for Shida, the Legendary Pokémon of Light, to help them destroy their own kingdom. Touched by the pure dedication of their prayers, she answered and fought Baalor while the rebels assaulted the keep. As strong as the spawn of evil were, using dark secrets to bound the will of the lingering spirits of dead Pokémon, they could not match the resolve and fierceness of their enemies and their Light-born companions, the Light Pokémon, and failed to defend their king. Krenghan, the High Executor of Baalor, lost his life. And so, the keep fell."

"Baalor, knowing he could not fight any longer, ran away from the conflict and hid in the darkest and deepest caves. But all was not well. Shida had been gravely wounded during her fight, and did not have the power to assist those in need any longer. The rebels, now leaders of the kingdom, offered their eternal service to her, and were sent far and wide to help maintain peace and prosperity. That is how the Order of the Paladins was created. Blessed with divine power and their trusted Light Pokémon, they fought against evil and oppression wherever it was seen."

"Once Shida had recovered, she released the Paladins from her service. Some of them continued on as protectors of all that is good and pure, the highest followers of Shida. The others, weaker at heart, abandoned their duties and settled down as teachers and priests, together with their Pokémon. The remaining villagers created a festival to celebrate their new position as the Kingdom of Light. They named it _Krinshonna, _the Festival of Balance. In it, they remembered how even inside the darkest places there is light, and did not forget that the opposite is also true. They also venerated Shida and her Light-born Pokémon, as well as the Paladins."

"Through the ages, the _Krinshonna_ was slowly altered. Nowadays, it is called Halloween, when Ghost Pokémon roam free and everybody is happy while dressed in creatures of the shadows. That is how balance keeps on existing, and all is well. No more was heard about Shida and the Light Pokémon, or the Paladins, but some say that the famed Aura Guardians of old were the successors of these champions. The Kingdom of Light is now Sootopolis, and up to this day people have an annual celebration to Legendaries, in which young Trainers recreate the battle between Shida and Baalor by being split into two sides, Light and Darkness. If the Light team wins, the next year is guaranteed to be good, while if the Darkness team wins, it is forecast to be accompanied with sorrow. And, to keep balance, a prize is given to whoever wins, be he good or evil."

--XXXXX--

After he is done, the humans laugh and talk. One of them, a little brunette girl, passes around shyly with a tray filled with small foods and four drinks. Each person takes one, and they begin to eat the different foods. The last of them, a bigger girl, also brunette, walks away for a few moments before returning with something that resembled a Teddiursa in her arms. The white-haired boy laughs at her, but soon stops.

Humans. I have yet to see greater fools. Here they gather, listening to the truth of the tales of old, and yet they _dare_ to _laugh_ at them? To _ignore_ them? It is no wonder that humans are bound to extinction, bound to destruction. They consider me evil, and yet I am only a pale shadow of the humans' evil. They consider me the most horrible, soulless creature ever to be? The humans have taken that title away from me. The humans are my proud spawn, darker at heart than evil incarnate. Darker even than Death!

But they remain oblivious to my thoughts. Like everyone else. Like Time itself. And as so, after some more moments of talking, that same white-haired boy clears his throat and begins a story of his own, uncaring and unconcerned. Fool.

--XXXXX--

"A good time ago, there was a lone traveller knows as Skratchdat. He was a great Pokémon trainer, the best the world have ever seen. He travelled from town to town and fought in many competitions and contests, winning them all. With his trusty Raichu and Alakazam, no one was a match to his power. Until one day."

"Skratchdat was walking near an abandoned tower when he heard a ghostly whisper. Immediately curious, and wanting to add a Ghost Pokémon to his team, he hurried inside. The tower was falling apart, but it was still strong enough to hold the human and his Pokémon. Carefully, they moved in deeper, towards the bowels of the tower."

"At each step, the ground creaked. Wailing whispers filled the air, carrying the sound of eternal suffering. But the man carried on. On the total darkness, he stumbled forward, stopping at nothing. He was determined to get that Ghost, no matter what."

"Through the many halls, the stench of death and decay filled the air. Bones of dead creatures could be clearly seen, impaled by iron spikes and dusty arrows. The wailings grew stronger, and the group walked closer together. They completely missed the group of Ghost Pokémon emerging behind them, nor did they noticed when those same Pokémon prepared orbs of dark energy, ready to strike. It was only when it was too late that Skratchdat and his Pokémon realized what was happening."

"Alakazam, not hesitating a second, jumped in front of the oncoming attack and took it all. Deeply hurt, he fell to the ground, near death. Skratchdat and Raichu tried to help him, but they were cut off by the Ghost's evil tricks. Locked behind an invisible cage, they were forced to see Alakazam be tortured, every inch of life slowly drained out of him, every thought being erased, by a dark Gengar. And then, finally, the cold claws of Death took hold of the Psychic Pokémon, a long relief to all his pain."

The Ghosts then departed, but they kept a barrier impeding Skratchdat to go back towards his dear Pokémon or leave the tower. Soon, grief hollowed his heart out, leaving nothing but hatred towards the creatures responsible for this. He vowed to hunt down each one of them and kill them the same way they had killed his trusted Alakazam, his trusted friend."

"And, with no other choice, he proceeded up the stairs. The ghostly whisper that had lured him into the tower was louder than ever, but it now filled Skratchdat's heart with hatred. Burning, boiling hatred. The man no longer wished for anything else than to get rid of that whisper and to burn the tower to the ground."

"He and Raichu continued their walking. The former, consumed by hatred, did not notice when a blade cleaved down from the wall, ready to cut him in half. He did not see, but Raichu did."

"The Electric Pokémon selflessly pushed his trainer aside and faced the blade on his own. As Death came to meet him, his only thoughts were 'Take care, Master.'. And then the blade hit. Skratchdat was absolutely horrified. Not only he had lost Alakazam, but now Raichu as well. For the first time, he was alone. For the first time, he was afraid."

"He lost all care for his own life. The only thing that powered his body was hatred, sorrow, and grief. Nothing else mattered than to get rid of this tower and of all those that occupied it. He raced forward, not caring nor even noticing when arrows traps were sprung and scratched his body. Not noticing when Ghost Pokémon hampered his efforts, nor when the whisper rose in volume. The only thing he noticed was the door, the last door."

"He pushed it aside, burning with hatred. And what he saw inside shocked him."

"The room was circular, and in the middle stood the most beautiful woman the world had ever been graced with. At once, all of his troubles vanished. He felt as if he was in complete peace, as if he could never be hurt again. Slowly, the woman approached him, whispering a low tune."

"Transfixed by her beauty, Skratchdat forgot all about Alakazam or Raichu, all about his vowels, all about the tower. Greed overcame all the rest. Greed and lust."

"When the woman was close, almost touching him, she bent forward and delivered him a soft kiss on the lips. And Skratchdat fell limp off the ground, drained of all life. For eternal solitude was the curse of the woman. It was her that delivered the soft kiss of Death. It was her that took all life, chained to her dark tower by a being more powerful than herself, and ten times ten thousand times as evil. That was the curse of Death."

--XXXXX--

A silence follow his words. I laugh at their reaction. I remember that story clearly. I remember it to the last detail, for it is I who killed Alakazam. It is I who triggered the blade that ended Raichu. And it is I that chained Death and built the tower.

Finally, the foolish humans spoke again. I can see the girls are still shaken. Good. Even millennia after I am gone, humans still remember me through legends. And they still fear. That is the only human flaw. As cruel and pitiless as they are, they still fear.

The bigger girl is thoughtful. I can see she thinks about her own tale. What would it be this time? A useless bunch of lies that people normally tell or another deeper story like the ones I've just heard? The girl speaks, and I listen.

--XXXXX--

"Many years ago, there was a huge kingdom. Ruling this kingdom was a king and queen, and their beautiful princess. Jaina was her name, given to her after her grandmother. She really liked that named, saying it had a 'royal air' to it."

"Jaina wasn't far from a normal princess. She did not want to govern, true enough, but she enjoyed the rest of being a princess. She even had a nice friend, Melanie. Melanie was Jaina's private servant, and took care of all her laundry, cleaning, dressing and all sorts of things. The two were very close, even though Jaina's parents did not enjoy to see her hanging around a simple servant. She should be with princes and dukes, not with a maid."

"The life at the kingdom went on easy and without trouble for a long time, until Jaina was seventeen years old and Melanie was fifteen. Jaina was becoming a talented Pokémon trainer, but she didn't like to battle very much. She preferred to look at the beautiful side of Pokémon. At that fateful year, things changed."

"Silently, two people moved into the city, deep in the night. One of them was tall and very strong, while the other had wisdom and intellect far superior to those of his age. Together, they walked around the town, checking if any inns would take them at such a late hour. They finally settled for a decent inn not far from the palace. Since they had slept during the day and were not tired, they decided to take a look around the town. And what better place to start than the palace?"

"When they approaching the majestic building, they noticed something was wrong. The guards at the gate were fast asleep, and the gate had been broken down. Without hesitation, the two entered the palace and followed the traces of the invaders, which varied from confused footprints to broken windows."

"They found a rope going up one of the windows. The taller person went first, climbing into the window with ease. Inside, he found a note, saying:

'Dear father and mother;

This is Jaina speaking. I know that my eighteenth birthday's coming up, and that is when I have the Queen Passing ceremony. But I don't want to rule this land!  
I want to be free, to train Pokémon and become one with mine like everyone else. I certainly enjoy having the privileges of a princess, but I'm not cut out for this life, to do the same thing every day! I want to do _more_ than that! I want to feel like every day was the best day of my life, like I always made the right choices and have no regrets. I know that's not true, but when I'm with my Pokémon, I _feel_ like it is! It's the best feeling in the whole wide world!  
Please, don't worry about me. Melanie has offered to came along with me, should any misfortunes come my way, so I am not alone. Plus, I have my Pokémon, and  
I will meet lots of different people down the road. I'm no longer Princess Jaina. From now on, I'm Jaina, proud Pokémon trainer!

With ten times all the love in the world;  
Jaina.'

And he understood that the break-in was actually a break-out. When the other human reached him, he showed him the letter and the two agreed on it. They would find Jaina and Melanie, and they would travel with them. Since they were both trainers of decent power, they could always help out if needed. And they shared many of the young girl's dreams and hopes."

"So they began their travel. Quick as lightning, they descended from the room and left the palace. As soon as they were out, they called their Pokémon and took flight towards the west, where the only town before the huge Dryswallow Desert stood. They travelled for the rest of the night, and reached Drymarch Town by the break of dawn."

"It wasn't hard to find the two girls from the palace. Jaina was a young woman of extraordinary beauty, and was sure to attract eyes wherever she went. Maybe _too_ many eyes. But it made things easy to find her, sitting in a tavern, wearing a travelling robe and cloak that covered most of her body, leaving only a thin slice of her face showing. Melanie was there too, shorter than the princess, but dressed in the same way."

"The two stalkers decided to stay in the shadows for the time. They did not want to scare the princess, and they couldn't tell her what they knew. So, they remained neutral and pretended they were just more drinkers at the tavern."

"But problems soon came. It did not take long for a drunk man to come to Jaina's table and humiliate both himself and the princess. Many others joined, and the two damsels were forced back against a corner. Deciding they could not stand by any longer, the two guardians took off their hoods and stepped between the crowd and the two damsels."

"The oncoming men were hardly intimidated. It was only when the first Pokémon were released that they backed off. Most of them weren't even trainers, and those who were lacked any form of talent. The two, now clearly distinguishable as young men, easily fought them off."

"But then a bigger problem came. Rolaab, the cruellest thief and assassin in the region, was at that very inn, and he decided he wanted the two young women for himself. He stepped in and fought against the defenders with his own Pokémon, Dark and Ghost Pokémon of great power."

"As difficult as it was, the two young men were almost winning when the taller one suddenly ordered his Pokémon to strike at his partner's. Surprised and hurt by the betrayal, and unable to fight against the forces of the two combined, the remaining man faltered, and would have lost his life, if not for Jaina and Melanie."

"Unable to just watch the battle any longer, Jaina released her few Pokémon to fight, and Melanie tended to the man. The two evil-doers fought hard, but Jaina fought with determination and spirit, and ultimately triumphed. Defeated, the two retreated away to places of which only Arceus knows. Jaina and her saviour, who had also been saved, travelled together for a long time, and eventually got married. Melanie always accompanied them, and she found her own charming prince as well."

"And they lived for many years after. Not the richest life, not the easiest life, but certainly a life worth living."

--XXXXX--

That story... I remember it from somewhere... what was it? Where was it? And why can't I place it on the right place? Why does this memory, out of all the others, do not fit? This has never happened before. Even when I was defeated, I still had clear thoughts.

The humans are finishing up their petty talks and going to slumber. But I do not pay attention. This memory is just outside my grasp, elusive, toying with me! I know it is something important, I am sure of it. It is something that will allow me to take back my great shape and my powers, so I can once more unleash my wrath upon this world! And yet, it refuses to fit! What kind of sorcery is this? It must be the work of those damned Legendaries, the ones that sealed me so long ago...

I must pay close attention to this. I must find the truth. I have never been so close to freedom again, and I will not let the opportunity pass. I _WILL_ be free!"

* * *

That was the second part of the double update and the Halloween special. The narrator was scarrier than the stories. Oh, well. What can you do?

Thank you everyone for reading! And let me repeat this:

"...but believe me when I say it will have a _much_ deeper meaning. And you'll never figure it out..."

It will be _very_ important. Not in a usual way, not in anything vaguely resemblant to a usual way, but still very important. So, stay tuned!

Happy Halloween!

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	10. Life Is So Unfair

Welcome, dears readers.

What did you think about my Halloween special (if anyone actually read it, which, according to my Reader Traffic, is unlikely)? The stories were exactly solid gold, but I guarantee you they were at least hollow copper. Not much more than that, though.

Back to the chapter at hand, it continues from where it dropped off last time (I know! Shocking, huh?). I assure you, May _does not_ die, as you will read in the next hundred words or so. And, to make things original, the ending is _very_ original and unique.

Brendan is not considered, cared for, thought about, spoken to, seen, heard, smelled, touched, tasted, or otherwise mentioned in this chapter, so sorry Brendan lovers (if there even is such a mythical thing). He will appear in the next chapter (alive, I hope), so you'll have to wait 'till then.

Personally, I really enjoyed writing this chapter. Jake was the big hero, for once, so I'm quite satisfied. But it is up to you guys to judge that, right?

So, I'll stop my stupidly long and pointless Author Note that I'm only writing so that this chapter will break the 5'000 word mark and allow you guys to actually to something pleasant, like (hopefully) reading this story.

See you at the bottom!

P.S.: That last phrase isn't mine. I read it in some story, but I can't recal which, so please don't sue!

_**

* * *

Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter 9: Life Is So Unfair**

The lone boy stood on the end of the road, looking off towards the wide extension of dirt tracks and light forest ahead of him. In the setting afternoon sun, it had a certain poetic beauty to it, with a light but ever so pretty mist sparkling all around. The city sounds behind the boy seemed to grow weaker and farther as he watched the landscape, transfixed by that rare show of pure, simple, pure beauty. And at the moment, only one thought crossed his mind.

"_What the hell?"_

The boy had been walking for little more than a few minutes, guided only by the unreliable suggestions of his map and the Petalburg City Gym Leader, and now he was here. It would be very nice, but the fact the he had intended to head the other way ruined all the rest.

"_I'm not trusting May's father ever, _ever_ again." _the boy thought. With a sigh, he thought about what he'd do. Since finding anything in that forsaken town was borderline impossible, it would be much easier to just camp outside the city. And he felt in the mood to run. The boy adjusted his backpack, pulled his cap further down, and took off in a rapid pace, watching as the scenery passed in a blur around him.

He had been running for nearly ten minutes when something stopped him. Panting, the boy skidded to a dead stop and focused. Sure enough, he could vaguely hear the sound of familiar voices. Voices of two of his friends. The boy smiled and took off once again. Maybe this wouldn't be so boring after all.

He had almost reached the voices, now separated from him by only a thin wall of trees and bushes, when a loud explosion echoed through the forest, shaking the ground. The boy lost his footing and fell to the ground, but was up like lighting. Then, he saw it.

The huge beam of golden power, heading towards a girl. Eyes wide, the boy dropped his backpack and broke into a lightning-fast sprint in a race against time.

--XXXXX--

May screamed. Behind her, so did Sara, Wally and Jennifer. Time seemed to drag itself, ticking by slowly as the huge beam of power came her way. The girl tried to move, but it was as her feet were glued to the ground. Slowly, steadily, the Hyper Beam came her way.

"_So, this is how it ends." _the girl thought bitterly. _"After mere eleven years of life, when things are start__**i**__ng to get interesting, this happens. Life is just so cruel."_

Then, she was hit with huge force in her left side, and was thrown off the road. The Hyper Beam passed over her, dangerously close, and hit a few trees, chopping them in half. She hit the ground, landing with a painful 'Thud', and felt something land on top of her. All the air of her lungs was pushed out, dirt flooded her eyes and mouth. Coughing and spluttering, she pushed whatever was on top of her off and struggled to her feet.

"MAY!" Sara shouted, racing over to the girl. "Thank Goodness you're okay!"

"What…" May said, spitting earth out of her mouth. "What on Earth just happened!?"

"You almost got hit by a Hyper Beam." explained a familiar voice. May looked up and was shocked to see Jake, panting heavily. The boy gave one of his disturbing grins. "Luckily for you, I got there first."

"Thanks…" May muttered, still shocked. She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. I didn't help, but it _did_ give her a bit of a headache. The girl groaned.

"May! Are you oka- YOU!" Jennifer shouted, pointing at Jake. Wally's eyes grew wide, and he did the same. Jake just raised an eyebrow.

"Well, well, what are the odds?" the farm-boy said. "Wally, Jennifer."

"Wait!" May shouted, confused. "Do you guys _know_ each other?"

"Long story." Jake replied, shaking his hand dismissively. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was interrupted when the ground shook, caused by another explosion, and they heard a terrible roar.

"JRYAOO!" something roared so loudly that the trees shook.

Everyone stood dead still and looked off towards where the sound came from. Jennifer clung tightly to Wally's arm again, Sara squeezed May's hand, May responded to the pressure, and Jake tightened his jaw.

"What… w-what was that?" Sara asked, frightened.

"Dunno…" Jake said, getting up. "We should get back to the Pokémon Center. Or back to town, at the very least. Especially since it's getting dark."

"No!" May shouted, surprising everyone. "We can't just leave! There's a bunch of explosions going on around here and something roaring! What if it's a rampaging Pokémon? What if someone's hurt?"

"Then I don't see how we could do much." Jake replied calmly. "We've got… four Pokémon, unless those two," He nudged his head towards Wally and Jennifer. "Have some of their own. If it indeed _is_ a rampaging Pokémon, we can't put up much of a fight."

"But we've gotta try!" May argued. "At the very least!"

The two argued for a few moments before another roar and explosion cut the air. Enjoying the momentary distraction, May jumped to her feet, suddenly lithe as a cat, and ran down the road. Everyone just stared at her for a second, before Sara ran after her. With a curse, Jake followed, leaving Wally and Jennifer alone.

"So…" Wally began tentatively. "Race you home?"

"Sure…" Jennifer replied slowly. The two turned back and ran like the wind.

--XXXXX--

"May! Please, stop!" Sara shouted, desperate. May looked back at her for a second, slowing then, but then sped up again. "You don't know what's going on there!"

"_Why am I doing this?"_ May asked herself. Truth was, she didn't know the answer. Even now, she felt like she was being guided by some unknown force, like she had no control over her actions. It was just instinct. Frustrated, the girl dug through her memories, trying to find something that could make things clearer. And suddenly, she stumbled onto something that made sense.

"May!" Sara called once more. Suddenly, May skidded to a halt. Sara noticed they were now standing on the top of a small hill. When the girl looked down at valley between their hill and the next, her heart skipped a beat.

"Damn! What's wrong with you!?" Jake said as he reached the girls. He took one quick glance at the scenery and whispered a low curse.

On the valley, about three dozen men dressed in black outfits were hurriedly running around. They all had the same 'R' printed in large red letters on their shirts. On the middle of the valley, a mighty green dragon with red wings and neck, white belly and red tail underside was fighting against the ropes that bound him, chained to the ground. It was his roar that the trio had heard. As they watched, speechless, the creature roared again and shot another Hyper Beam wildly. The man screamed and jumped out of the way as the incredibly powerful attack hit the ground and exploded, making the ground shake. A few of the men had Pokémon attacking the defenseless, trying to take it down.

"How _dare_ they do that to a Salamence!? Even more a shiny one!" Jake roared, outraged, his hands curled up into fists. May and Sara subconsciously took a step backward. "Salamence are proud creatures, and should be faced as such! If it is catching those man want, they should have the guts to at least do it fairly!"

_  
_Hearing his loud speech, some of the men spotted the boy. They shouted something to the others, then climbed up the hill to meet the newcomers. Seven in total. May and Sara took a step back in fear. Jake whispered yet another curse and began to search the ground for something.

"Great job, Jake." May said sarcastically. "Now, we're dead. And just when I survived a Hyper Beam! This is just so unfair!"

"I remind you that _I_ saved you." Jake replied, picking some rocks in his hands and turning towards the guys.

"Details! Who nee- What the hell are you doing?"

Jake had picked one of the stones in his right hand and was aiming at one of the incoming men. Without a word, he threw the rock through the air, hitting the head of one of the attackers with deadly accuracy. From sixty feet away.

"Jake!? WHAT THE HELL!?" May screamed, shocked. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL THEM!?"

"Actually, I was only trying to make a few unconscious before they get here and pulverize us." the boy replied, shrugging. "But hey, whatever works for you." He threw another rock against the men, now crouched around their unconscious companion, and another one hit the sack. The remaining men looked at him and broke into a run.

"Stop it, please!" Sara pleaded, frightened more for the men's sake than for her own. "You'll hurt them!"

"And they won't hesitate to do the same to us." Jake replied, ever so calm. He threw another rock, and a third man fell. It was now a four-against-three match, with the men's advantage. The rest of them were now too close for another rock, so Jake stepped back and released Scorch. May, grudgingly, released Torchic and Zigzy, while Sara bitterly released Ralts.

"You there! Meddling brats!" the first men shouted as he reached to top of the hill, panting. "Surrender peacefully to Team Rocket or we'll take you down by force!"

"Do your worst!" Jake challenged. Scorch's tail flared up in anticipation for a battle, but the Charmander didn't seem to notice. "I'm not scared of you!"

"Humn, Jake…" May whispered carefully, coming closer to the boy, as the three other men appeared and they all released their Pokémon. "I really appreciate you saving me and all, but I don't think I'm grateful enough to die so you can be a macho!"

Things were looking bad for the kids. Facing their four Pokémon stood a total of seven enemies. Three small, purple rat-like creatures, three bat-like Pokémon that everyone recognized as Zubat, and a purple snake with yellow rings.

"Jeez, May." Jake whispered back, rolling his eyes. "We can take them. We just need a plan…"

"And what great plan you do you have, Mr. _Mastermind?_" May asked.

"Well, let's see…" Jake answered, thoughtfully rubbing his chin. "Zubat are part poison, and since that snake's purple and looks poisonous, I bet it is too. So, all we need to do is cover Ralts while he takes them out. Should be easy, seeing as he's a Psychic type."

"She." Sara corrected, stepping in. She seemed to have forgotten her shyness. "But could you get on with it? These guys are… looking at us…"

Sure enough, the Team Rocket members were staring them, annoyed by the delay. Jake rolled his eyes and turned to the girls, who nodded.

--XXXXX--

"**Humn, hello?" **Scorch said tentatively to the seven hostile Pokémon in front of him. **"Nice weather we're having, huh?"**

"**Ssure isssss."** a purple snake hissed.**"Look at all thissss sssssun. Hoenn really isssss a nice-ssssssssss vacation ssssssspot."**

"**Oh, isn't it gorgeous?" **Ralts shouted, spinning around. **"All this beautiful setting sun!"**

"**Ekans! For the thousand time, you're not supposed to be chatting with the enemy!" **one of the Zubat said.

"**Buzzzzkillaaa…"** Ekans muttered, but walked back to his side of the field.

The trainers shouted orders. Listening attentively, Torchic, Scorch and Zigzy discreetly positioned themselves protectively over Ralts, who closed her eyes and focused. One of the Zubat was suddenly frozen in mid-air and slammed to the ground several times before fainting. The rest of the Team Rocket Pokémon team advanced, and were met by the Travelling Trio Pokémon team. Scorch raked at the nearest rat with his sharp claws, causing the smaller creature to shriek in pain and retreat. Torchic shot small fireballs at the two other incoming rats, not hurting them much but keeping them at bay. The two remaining Zubat dived at her, but Scorch sent them off with an Ember attack. The Ekans moved in towards Ralts, teeth bare, but was intercepted by a painful Headbutt from Zigzy.

Their initial charge foiled, the Team Rocket team retreated and gathered for another strike. The two Zubat flew up high, preparing for another strike. Scorch and Torchic showered their enemies with a double Ember attack, dealing a bit of damage. Ralts focused once more and another Zubat met the same fate as the first. Zigzy head-butted the Ekans again, but this time the snake managed to fight back and constrict the raccoon. Seeing his friend in trouble, Scorch dropped his Ember attack and clawed Ekans, but was left open and was painfully bitten by one of the rat's Hyper Fang. The Charmander shouted in pain as the rat's big teeth sunk into his flesh.

Torchic turned her Ember towards him, but the remaining two rats used their Hyper Fangs on her, and the chicken was hit hard. Zigzy head-butted Ekans one more time, effectively fainting him, before turning back and heading towards her. Scorch shot a close-up Ember at the rat that was biting him, causing the latter to let go. Enjoying the moment of weakness, the Charmander pressed on with another Scratch attack and knocked it out. The last Zubat hit him with a weak Leech Life, but was hit by Ralt's Confusion attack before much harm was done. However, the Psychic type was already tired, so the bat managed to endure the attack.

Zigzy head-butted the two rats and consequently Torchic. The rats let go, but the Fire type was knocked out. Scorch attacked one of them with a Metal Claw, right between the eyes, and rendered him unconscious. The last Zubat used a Supersonic attack on Ralts, and the Psychic type ended up tripping on a rock and falling. The last rat used another Hyper Fang on Scorch, but the salamander managed to throw him off with a Ember attack. He was getting pretty tired, though.

Zigzy chased off the last rat and head-butted him, causing the smaller (although not by much) foe to drop unconscious. Ralts was hit by the last Zubat's Leech Life, and hit her hand on the ground multiple times when she tried to fight back. Scorch sent him away with an Ember attack, but the bat dodged most of the attack and fought back with a well-place Wing Attack right on the softest point of Scorch's belly. The Charmander's view went black as he drifted into unconsciousness. Finally recovering from her confusion, Ralts launched another Confusion attack at the tired Zubat and this time managed to faint it.

And then the match was over. Torchic and Scorch were out, Ralts was badly wounded, and Zigzy's ribs were aching, but the entire Team Rocket team was defeated. Frustrated and angry, the Team Rocket trainers recalled their Pokémon and ran off to get reinforcements. Jake recalled Scorch and May recalled Torchic, while Sara took Ralts in her arms. Zigzy rubbed himself against his trainer's legs, and received a welcomed pat for the job well done.

--XXXXX--

"Told ya we could beat them." Jake said with an arrogant grin as the men ran off.

"Just great." May replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Any great plans on how to get rid of the other _thirty_ of them?"

"As a matter of fact," Jake said. "No. But I bet something will come up sooner or later."

"Well, it better be sooner, 'cause we're gonna get creamed otherwise."

"Once again, I sincerely thank you for your confidence in our abilities."

"Guys!" Sara interrupted. "Focus here! We've got little ti-"

The rest of her sentence was cut off by another roar from the shiny Salamence. The Team Rocket members had stopped attacking it for a moment when the kids arrived, but now they were back at it. The dragon roared and struggled harder than ever as a multitude of attacks hit it simultaneously. Just then, an idea crept into Jake's mind. It'd be hard to pull off, but if they could get close enough and not get caught, and preferentially not pulverized, then they might just pull it off.

"Girls, listen to me." Jake ordered hurriedly. "If we can get close enough to those ropes, we can pull 'em off the ground or at the very least weaken then, and hopefully set the Salamence free. When that is done, there's a chance that it will destroy the rest of the camp."

"Us included." May noted grimly.

"Not if we're outta there fast enough." Jake replied.

"SO, let me get this straight. We get close to the ropes _without_ getting creamed by thirty angry thieves, we set a rampaging dragon free so it can destroy the criminal camp, we get outta there before we're killed, and all of this with only two Pokémon, one of which is barely standing. Why don't we grow wings and fly while we're at it?"

"If you can do that, it'd be great." Jake said in his is-that-sarcasm-or-not tone. "It would really help us out."

May groaned and rolled her eyes while Sara let out a short giggle. The group then focused once more.

"So, how can we get close enough without getting crushed?" Sara asked, wincing slightly.

"We'll need a distraction." Jake said, grinning evilly at the girls. "You know, the good old 'Come and get me' kinda thing. And since you're the only ones that have Pokémon…"

"Oh, you've _gotta_ be kidding me!" May shouted, exasperated. "Are you really expecting us to just head down there and yell 'Look at us, two little girls ready to be destroyed!' at them? Are you freakin' outta your mind?"

"Just give me three minutes." Jake said. "Get in there, count three minutes and _get out._ No matter what."

"Oh, that's _sooo_ comforting." May muttered, rolling her eyes yet again. "I'm feeling much better now, thanks."

"Glad I could help. Now move!" And he pushed the two girls downhill before they could argue anymore.

May and Sara stumbled down the hill. When they recovered their balance, they were already mid-way through to the camp. Many of the Team Rocket members noticed that, and released a their Pokémon. The girls watched nervously as nearly fifty Pokémon stood in front of them, growling, hissing or just generally acting tough.

"Humn, hello?" May said. "Nice weather we're having, huh?"

In response, the Pokémon charged at them. Turning around, the two girls ran for their lives.

--XXXXX--

"Almost there…" Jake muttered to himself as he slowly edged closer to the struggling Salamence. Their attention momentarily distracted, the Team Rocket _torturers_,for that was the only word that described them, had stopped attacking it. The mighty dragon was enjoying the respite, eyes closed and her laid on the ground, panting heavily. Jake wondered if it would actually have any strength to fight on, even once freed. The thoughts that he might have doomed May and Sara didn't help, either. Shaking his head to shrug the uncertainties and regrets off, the boy finally reached the dragon.

The boy gave a testing pull on the closest rope. It was stuck solidly into the ground, too solidly to budge. After unsuccessfully trying to loosen it, Jake gave up and focused on finding a way to cut through the ropes. he didn't have any sharp object, his army knife was back at his backpack, which was now abandoned in some bushes, and Scorch was fainted. Gritting his teeth, the pulled the rope once more, frustrated.

But no matter how much he tried, the rope was too deep underground to be loosened by human means. Jake looked sadly at the wounded Salamence, who looked like it still resting. Just then, an idea popped into his mind, and the boy began to search for just the right ropes.

--XXXXX--

"I… am… _soooooo_… gonna… kill… Jake... latter!" May vowed as she and Sara ran away from the horde of Pokémon. The said horde was gaining in on them dangerously closed. "How… long… has it… been? Two… minutes…?"

"Twenty… six… seconds." Sara answered, still running. The girls were beginning to run out of energy, and the Pokémon were now less than thirty feet away. Suddenly, Sara stumbled and fell on the ground. It took her precious seconds to get up, even more being exhausted, and then the Pokémon were on them. The girl screamed and hugged each other as the horde formed a tight circle around them, ready to attack at the slightest movement. Many Zubat and even some Golbat flew around, keeping close attention at the drama unfolding on the ground.

"Worthless brats!" spat on of the thirty Team Rocket members around the girls. "You just can't mind your own business, can you?"

"Boss! What should we do with them?" asked another one, referring to the first speaker.

The man paused and considered for a moment. May's thoughts raced wildly as she tried to think of something that could buy them time, and maybe even their lives. "WAIT!" the girl shouted, and everyone looked at her. "Humn… first of all, I'd like to introduce myself. I'm May Maple!"

"Maple?" the Boss asked, grinning. He was a tall, powerfully built man that looked younger than thirty. He head short, curly blonde hair and icy-cold blue eyes. "Norman's daughter, heh? Well, this will certainly be worth a penny to the boss!"

"_Great going, May. You just doomed yourself, and probably your family." _the girl thought bitterly, biting her lip. She decided to see if she could still take that back. "Oh, sorry, I said Maple? I meant… huh… Staple?" _"Urgh!"_

"Good try, missy!" the Boss mocked, then turned to the others. "Capture her."

"What about the other one, sir?"

"Dispose of her in any way you see fit."

"Roger that, sir."

Sara's eyes grew wide as she became extremely pale and cowered slightly behind May. "W-what are you gonna do to me!?" she screamed, frightened. May's face grew harder as she covered her smaller friend, glaring daggers at any of the Team Rocket members that moved.

"What are you waiting for!?" the Boss shouted, angry at his subordinates.

"She's… staring at us!" one of the Team Rocket grunts complained. "It's not nice!"

"I swear to Mew, if you don't obey my orders, I'll do a lot more than stare at you!" the Boss roared.

"You know, that doesn't really mean much." May pointed out, determined to at least go down with a fight. Or at least having pissed them off a lot. "There's thousands of things that are worse than staring, but are still nice. Like, for exam-"

"Shut up!" the Boss cursed, enraged. "I swear to Mew, I'll rip you apart with my own hands if don't shut up!"

"Now, now, that wouldn't be very nice, would it?" asked a new voice provocatively.

Everyone turned to the new sound. Jake was standing there, twenty feet away, a disturbing grin on his face, throwing a rock up and down on his hand. Behind him, the dragon seemed asleep. May wondered for a moment if Jake had actually done something, and prayed to every living Legendary that he had. Sara seemed to have similar doubts, because she shot a doubtful look at the boy and at the dragon. The Team Rocket thieves, however, just laughed at him.

"Ha! And what are _you_ gonna do about it, brat?" the Boss laughed. "Call your Mama?"

"Oh, _believe_ _me_, I don't wanna hurt you _that_ much." Jake replied in his typical is-that-sarcasm-or-not tone, shivering. And not from the cold. "But that's the main idea. Only with that little Salamence over there as my Mama."

"Ha! That pitiful thing is chained! It couldn't even defeat a Zubat right now!" the Boss mocked. Jake's jaw immediately clenched shut, his hands curled up into fists, his eyes seemed to burn with energy, the boy stopped playing with the rock, and he seemed to give off an aura of heat. Everyone except the Boss took a subconscious step backwards.

"All I have to do," the boy said, with an undeniably threatening voice. "Is wake it up. Just give me a motive."

"Go right ahead, then! It is too weak to fight!"

"Humn, Boss?" one of the grunts asked as a Growlithe came running his way, a piece of rope in its jaw. The rope was snapped, and seemed to have been shredded against something rough. The grunt looked over to the sleeping dragon, and noticed most of the ropes had met the same fate. Only a few remained, definitely not enough to keep the Salamence at bay for more than a few moments. "I think we _might_ just have a problem…"

"What?" the Boss asked, then saw the ropes on the man's hands. His eyes grew wide, as did those of many of the Team Rocket members. The Boss called after Jake, who had already turned around and was aiming the rock he was carrying at the sleeping Salamance. "No, stop!"

"Will you let us go?" Jake asked, still aiming. He moved his arm slightly as if he was throwing the rock, teasing with the Team Rocket members. Truth was, the boy wanted to give as much time as possible for the Salamence to recover.

"Yes!" The Boss replied without hesitation, freaked out by the idea of having to face the dragon's wrath.

"Will you give us two pounds of fresh lasagna?" Jake continued, teasing a bit more vividly.

"What the he-" the Boss began, but Jake pretended to throw the rock, and he corrected himself. "I mean, yes! Two pounds of fresh lasagna!"

"With a lot of cheese and tomato sauce?" Jake continued. "And good cheese. Not just this common, nutrition-packed PokéMart cheese that smells like Tauros' excrements."

"YES!" The Boss yelled, desperate and humiliated. He felt that the situation was now completely in Jake's hands.

"With tasty meat to give it some… you know, stronger taste?"

"YES!"

"Ah, too bad." Jake said, shrugging. "I'm a vegetarian." And he threw the rock.

Everyone watched in awe as the stone sailed through the sky. Time once more seemed to drag itself, seconds ticking by like hours. It was now almost dark, with the little remains of the sun now barely giving off enough light to see the rock clearly, but everyone seemed to instinctively know where it was. The rock flew through the air, in a perfect arch, and began its descent. Everyone held their breaths are it plunged towards the sleeping Salamence. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the rock hit the creature's nostrils and fell to the ground. For a second, nothing happened. No one dared to move a muscle.

Finally, the dragon stirred. Slowly, groggily, it opened one eye and looked around. Then, it stretched and got up. It was only then that the smell of the place invaded his nostrils, and the memories of what had happened flooded its mind. Rage overcame the creature, and it began to look around for its prey. Seeing the tightly packed group of humans and Pokémon not far from its location, the mighty dragon easily took flight, snapping the ropes without even noticing them, having recovered from the damage it had suffered by using a Rest attack. Those recollections inflamed even more the burning pit of anger in his mind, and he charged a powerful Hyper Beam to destroy those cursed humans once and for all.

For May, it was a serious case of déjà vu. The only difference this time was that the huge beam of golden energy came from the from the skies, whereas twenty minutes ago it had been at a much lower angle. But it was the same grand picture. The huge Hyper Beam heading her way. Everyone frozen in place, to intimidated even to move. Many people, Sara included, screaming. And a single thought crossed her mind.

_"Life is so unfair."_

* * *

Well, d'you like it? If yes, then please drop by a review and have a pleasant day. If not...

So, very original ending, huh? It was pretty much the same thing as the beginning. But hey, if it works, why not?

Nothing much else to say after the stupidly large Author's Notes at the top. Only one thing left: Remember to R&R! Hope you enjoyed this chapter enough to actually want to read the next. If not...

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	11. Boring Action

Howdy hey hey, dear readers!

Hope you all enjoyed the Halloween Special (if anyone actually read it...)! I know the stories are kinda dull, but they were kinda hurried and... ahem.

In this chapter, there will be some lame attempts at humor, as well as some hurried action scenes, coupled with a short chapter. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

_**Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter 10: Boring Action**

"Argh, this is just _sooo_ boring!" Brendan said out loud, sitting on his bed. Although his infection was under control now, he still had to stay at the Center for the remaining of the day, just in case. Plus, it was almost dark now, and it was too late to actually _do_ anything.

Nurse Joy had brought some games for him to amuse himself with, but Brendan said, "Any games that you can play alone are not games worth playing.", and the Nurse got pissed off for some reason. She yelled, "FINE! IF THE GAMES ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOUR _GREAT_ PRESENCE, THEN I'LL JUST TAKE THEM!" before saying some censored words and stomping off.

That alone had amused Brendan for the past hour and a half, but now it was getting old. The only consolation the boy had was that his friends probably were just as bored as he was. Okay, at least Jake was, since May and Sara were visiting May's father.

"_After all," _Brendan thought_, "What is there interesting to do in this town?"_

--XXXXX--

At the exact same moment that Brendan had that thought, Jake took a mighty leap towards May and Sara and pushed them away, then used the backwards impulse of the effort to throw himself at the ground and roll away just as the Hyper Beam hit the ground and caused a massive explosion. The boy was pushed away with great force, causing him to roll on the ground for almost twenty feet. Shaken and dizzy, not to mention with a horrible ringing inside his head, the boy struggled to his feet.

He was immediately relieved when he saw May and Sara, as dizzy as he was, moving. They were covered in dirt and cuts, courtesy of the Hyper Beam's force, but they didn't seem wounded. Looking around, Jake saw that this was also the case for almost every Team Rocket member. Only a few were wounded, and luckily not seriously. Even though they were cruel and had almost done something seriously evil to Sara, the boy felt relieved at their well-being. After all, he wasn't _that_ evil.

Now that he knew everyone was okay, another problem came up. The Salamence, even though strained from the powerful attack it had just unleashed, was now free and seriously pissed off. The creature roared and flew around the camp. Jake remembered Brendan, during one of their many chats they had when they were little, telling him something about Hyper Beam taking time to recharge. Right then, the boy couldn't care less about it, but the boy had to admit it might just save his life now.

He stumbled over to May and Sara. The girls, being further away from the explosion, weren't as dizzy as he was, but they were still shaken. Seeing him approach, the girls hurried towards him.

"Jake! Are you okay?" May said, genuinely concerned for him for the first time.

"Been through worse." Jake replied with a grin. He then got serious again. "We've gotta move. The Salamence's bound to attack again soon enough, and we better be outta here by then."

The girls nodded, and together the three ran for the (relative) cover of trees surrounding the camp. They were about halfway through when Sara stopped and gazed back at the camp. Jake dragged her by the arm to the trees, seeing as the Salamence was charging up another Hyper Beam. Once they were clear from immediate danger, the group ran down the hill and back towards the Pokémon Center.

They only stopped their desperate running when they were almost a mile from the Team Rocket camp. Thoroughly exhausted, the group collapsed right there and then. They were almost at Petalburg City, but no one had the strength or patience to venture inside and actually _find_ the Center. They considered camping there for the night, which led to this argument.

"We can't camp here!" May protested vividly, counting on her fingers each time she stated an argument. "There's a frenzied Salamence running loose not far from here, we don't have any camping gear, and wild Pokémon often steal from sleeping travelers around these parts! We would be asking for trouble!"

"It probably already destroyed enough for today, _you_ don't have any camping gear, and I couldn't care less." Jake calmly replied in order. "After all, what do we have that is actually worth stealing? It's not like we have any money, and neither of you girls brought your packs!"

"Oh, sorry, _Mr. Bigshot_, but you don't have your pack either!" May shouted, starting to get hostile. Jake did a quick check and found out that what she was saying was true. He whispered a low curse. Oblivious to the boy, May continued. "Do you carry sleeping bags hidden in your ears? 'Cause otherwise we don't have any gear!"

"Hey, hey!" Jake said, getting angry himself. "If I don't have my backpack, it's because _you_ had to get in the way of that stupid Hyper Beam! I had to drop it in order to _save_ you, which I did without hesitation and against better thoughts! Jeez, I'm starting to regret it!"

"I never _asked_ you to save you!" May shouted, enraged. "You just wanted to be the hero! I could have very well dodged that Hyper Beam on my own! But _noo_, big Jake has to come and _save_ _the day_, huh? Well, guess what, big Jake? Go burn in hell!"

"ENOUGH!" Sara shouted, covering her ears and falling on her knees, tears pouring out of her eyes. "Why must you _fight_ all the time!? Can't we just be happy that we're safe? That we're _alive?_ Why can't we just be happy?" And she broke into sobs.

All anger immediately forgotten, May hesitated a little before dropping beside her and patting her back. She shot Jake an apologetic glance, and was surprised by what she saw. The boy was scratching his chin, but May could have sworn he had wiped something shiny near his eye…

"You're right." the boy said, once more serious. "We should just be happy we're save. I'm sorry, Sara. May, if you want to, we can just head back to town. Hopefully, we'll be there in time for a nice soup in the cafeteria…"

"Sara…" May whispered softly, rubbing the said girl's back. "What do you want? Should we go to the cafeteria or stay here for the night?"

"Me?" Sara replied, wiping her eyes. She smiled a bit and stood up, supported by May. "I really don't care. As long as you two are not fighting anymore, I could sleep on ice. But as long as we're here already, why don't we camp for the night? We can tell stories around the campfire, and tomorrow morning we'll go look for Jake's backpack."

"Sounds like a plan." May agreed, also smiling. "That okay for you, Jake?"

"No problem, Random Girl." Jake replied, grinning. His face became once more serious almost immediately after. "Sorry 'bout that. As they say, old habits die hard. Anyway, we still need to figure out _how _to camp. As you so truly pointed out, we have no gear, at least not until tomorrow. And it's dark already."

"Ah, don't worry, Jacky." May mocked, smiling. "We'll find a way."

--XXXXX--

"Were are they!? Were!? Were!? WERE!?" Brendan shouted, throwing his pillow against the wall. The boy then began to snarl, claw and bite his bed. Probably needless to say, he was not in a good mood. "WERE ARE THOSE FREAKING IDIOTS!? WERE!?"

"Seems like someone is bo-ored." Nurse Joy said, standing by the (now) open doorway of the room. She was carrying something in her arms. "Would you like some games? Like this computerized Naval Battle? Or this 3-D Pokémon Chess?" she teased, showing him the items. She had already offered them once before, about two hours ago, but that did not end well. Brendan eyed the Nurse suspiciously, trying to find out if she had any hidden tricks.

"What do you want in exchange?" the boy finally asked, still trying to figure out why the Nurse was back. And most importantly, why was she being _nice._ "Money? My Pokémon?" His eyes narrowed dangerously. "…My friends? Ha! That's it! You want to exchange my friends for those games! Well, guess what? I_ accept_! Yahahaha!" The boy then began to repeatedly smash his head against the wall.

"Jeez…" Nurse Joy muttered, shocked by the display of… something. "They said that boredom kills, but this is ridiculous!" The Nurse intervened in the scene (relatively) quickly, forcing Brendan to lye back down on his bed and stop struggling, resisting and biting. Once in a comfortable position, the boy curled up into a ball and was immediately asleep, as if nothing had ever happened. The (allegedly) qualified Nurse stood in speechless shock for over a minute before slowly tip-toeing out of the room, locking the door behind her and running away.

--XXXXX--

"Humn, this is not what I had in mind…" May complained, watching Jake from a distance.

"Hey, it does the job, doesn't it?" Sara replied with a grin as she too watched the boy. "I wonder where he learned to do that."

"I guess he must have picked it up back at the farm."

"…Farm? What farm?"

"Oh, that's right, you didn't know! Jake's a farm-boy."

Surprised, Sara looked back towards where Jake was building a provisory shelter using branches from the surrounding trees. Sure, the boy had a certain rural and rough air about him, but he generally didn't seem like much of a farm-boy. May seemed to have similar thoughts, because she too looked at the boy, lost in her own mind. As the said boy finished his work, he dusted his hands off on one another and beaconed for the girls to step forward. As soon as May and Sara were close enough, he spoke.

"There, that should provide some shelter for the night. We should get some sleep now."

"Huh, Jake?" May asked, peeking over the boy's shoulder. "Are you sure three people can fit in there? It looks kinda small…"

"Three?" Jake replied, appearing surprised. "Hey, I built that for myself. You girls sleep on the grass."

"What!? Are you saying you, the boy, are going to sleep in the only decent place around and leave us, the girls, on the cold grass?" May asked, outraged. Jake thought for a bit, then nodded. "Were the hell is your gentleman-ism!?"

"Fine! If you want the tent, sleep on the goddam tent!"

"It's okay… we don't mind." Sara said, stepping in before another fight broke out. "_Do_ we, May?"

May gulped audibly, shooting quick glances between the tent and the grass, before dropping her gaze to the ground and saying in a defeated tone, "'Course we don't."

To the girls' surprise, Jake burst into laughing. It took him a moment before he had recovered enough to say, "HA! You actually bought that!"

"Whaddya mean!?" May shouted, surprised and angry.

"_No way_ I'm sleeping on that thing! Thanks a lot, but I choose life!" Jake continued, still chuckling. "But hey, feel free to take it for the night. As for me, I bid you all goodnight." And he laid down twenty feet from the hut and was immediately fast asleep.

"Boys…" May muttered, shaking her head in disbelief as she headed for the hut. Behind her, Sara chuckled.

--XXXXX--

The door creaked loudly as it was slowly pulled open, casting a thin slice of light into the dark room. Nothing stirred inside, nothing breathed. It was dead silent. May nervously stepped inside, following by an even more nervous Sara and a rather sleepy Jake. At first, the pitch-black darkness of the room made them all blind, but the light from the door still offered some comfort. It was then that the door slammed shut. May and Sara, almost panicking, tried to open it, but to their surprise, it was locked.

"What the…" May began, but soon stopped. Her whispered echoed through the still air and ended up like a terrifying ghostly whisper.

"W-what's going o-on?" Sara asked, terrified, instinctively drawing closer to May. Even Jake seemed serious. He tried to turn on the light switch, there was no response.

"So, you have come…" came a new, icy voice from the darkness. "I've been expecting you."

"G-GHOST!" May and Sara screamed at the same time, hugging each other. "AHHH!"

"Girls…" Jake muttered, shaking his head. He then looked over to where the sound had come from and said, "Brendan? You there, dude?"

Somewhere nearby, shadows moved. Jake extended a hand to touch it, but at the last moment it vanished and everyone could hear a soft, childish, freaky laughter. May and Sara screamed again, and Jake took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Brendan…" the voice said. "Yes, I remember that name. I was once called that… before I was left behind. Before I was _abandoned!_"

"Dude, we were gone for like… a day!" Jake shot back, trying to keep his voice steady. "Cut the act! It's creeping us out!" He once more reached for the nearby shadows, and once more they disappeared with that ghostly laughter.

"Brendan is no more…" the voice said, then laughed again. "I am Kilyan, the Spirit of DEATH!"

As soon as the voice said those words, the windows were thrown open, and a rush of freezing wind invaded the room. May and Sara screamed again, but their voice was completely drowned by the laughter, which was now raising in volume. Soon, it was the only thing that could be heard, even louder than the rushing wind. Acting as if on practice, May, Sara and Jake bolted towards the door, vainly trying to force it open.

"HAHAHAHAH!" the voice continued, but the ghostly laughter was now subsiding and being replace by a more normal, human laughter. "HAHAHAHAH!"

The trio turned towards where the new sound was coming. At the same time, the lights came on, the voice disappeared completely, and the howling wind ceased. Everyone was surprised to see Brendan laughing so much he were literally rolling on the floor. Jake, with a sour expression on his face, closed the window before heading back to his place.

"HEY! What's the big idea!?" May shouted, outraged. "That was a completely evil trick! It wasn't even fun!"

"Hey hey hey!" Brendan shot back, still chuckling. "You've been gone for at least ten hours! Do you have _any_ idea of how _boring_ it is to stay still on your bed for _ten freaking hours!?_ For your information, I've spent the last _three hours_ planning this, just so I'd have something to do!"

"How did you do that?" Jake asked, looking around the room. "I mean, the locking door, the lights, the window…"

"Well, let me present to you my assistant! Ladies and gentleman, Petalburg City's own Nurse Joy!" Brendan said, bowing and extending one arm towards the door. At the same time, Nurse Joy stepped into the room with a bow of her own. She smiled at the shocked kids in front of her, then broke into laughter. It took her a moment before she could walk over to Brendan and look at whisper some things into his ear. The two chuckled a bit, then the boy cleared his throat and spoke to the rest.

"Nurse Joy here was in charge of all the technical effects. You know, locking the door behind you, cutting off power to the room, opening the window, making her Blissey use Icy Wind to create the howling wind, catching it all on tape, bringing a recorder for the ghostly lau-"

"Wait!" interrupted May, a dangerous light gleaming on her eyes. "Did you say 'catching it all on tape'? _Answer carefully_."

"Ahm…" Brendan replied, wondering what he could answer. If he said 'yes', he could never accomplish his dream of going to the Sinnoh region, catching a bunch of Chatot and building the Chatot Utopia. If he said 'no', May would either believe him and let it go, or, most likely, kill him there and then. After a long moment of thought, he spoke in a very low whisper. "…Yes?..."

"BRENDAN BIRCH, YOU ARE _SOOOOO_ DEAD!" May roared, literally making the entire Pokémon Center shake. "SAY YOUR LAST WORDS SO I CAN _CRUSH_ YOU!"

"Earthquake!" shouted someone from outside the room. The shout was followed by the running steps and the sound of a window breaking. No one even noticed.

"Humn…" Brendan muttered. "I'd like to-"

"DON'T INTERRUPT ME!" May continued. "NOW, PREPARE TO DIE!"

"But… but… you said…" the boy spluttered, incredulous.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO INTERRUPT ME!"

"Urgh…" Jake groaned. "This is gonna be a _loooong_ day…"

--XXXXX--

"Au. Au. Au. Au. Au. Au. Au. Au. Au."

"Cut it out."

"Au. Au. Au. Au. Au. Au."

"Brendan!"

At this moment, Jake was walking with Brendan around Petalburg City. The former was extremely annoyed at his friend, for ever since the… _events…_ in the Pokémon Center, he was repeating that annoying word each time he took a step. They had decided to take a walk before they got gathering their things and _finally_ getting out of Petalburg, while May and Sara went back to the Gym for good-byes (and, in May's case, some phone-calls) and Nurse Joy tried to figure out why one of the Center's windows was broken.

"Claws!" Brendan nearly shouted. Luckily, the road was clear, as it was a rather cloudy day. "Where the hell did she get _claws!?_"

"They were just nails! Plus, consider yourself lucky it was just a scratch. It could've been much worse."

"You're not the one walking around with raked legs…"

"Urgh! You know what? I'm gonna ignore you from now on."

"…"

"…"

"Au. Au. Au. Au. Au…"

--XXXXX--

"So, everyone's ready to roll?" May asked as the group received their healed Pokémon from Nurse Joy.

"Yeah!" Sara answered enthusiastically. Apparently, it took an almost-semi-nearly-near-death experience to make her lose her shyness.

Brendan gasped, then practically shouted, "SARA! You can talk!" The boy fell to his knees and shouted to the ceiling. "Oh, you've heard my prayers! Thanks SO much!"

Sara blushed and looked at ground. May rolled her eyes, Jake groaned, and Brendan bellowed 'NOOOO' to the heavens. Nurse Joy shot a confused and worried glance between the travelers. Slowly but surely she was starting to fear for their mental health. Out of them all, Jake seemed to be the only one with any degree of normality around him. And those kids sure seemed to attract trouble. Merely being in the Center had made a window inexplicably brake. The Nurse shook her head and sighed. After this, she would have to make a long phone call to her boss…

Finally, Brendan, May, Jake and Sara left the Pokémon Center, heading off towards Rustboro City and their next adventures. There, Jake and Brendan would challenge the Gym (they had decided to skip Petalburg City's Gym, since it was rated 'Tough' by the official PLA Gym Rating). May and Sara weren't very interested in Gym Battles, but since Rustboro was a rather big city, it was bound to have some mauls, so the girls were happy. According to Jake's map, it would take them a little over a week to reach the city.

So, the travelers began their next travel towards the rising sun and new adventures.

* * *

Poetic, huh?

Here's a little information about the PLA (Pokémon League Association) Gym Rating. First of all, the trainers do not get in the Ever Grand League by number of badges, but rather by Badge Points. The harder the Gym, the more points its Badge is worth. Here is a little table about that:

Level 1, 'Sandbox'. Easy Gyms that offer little challenge. Suggested for starting Trainers. 2 Points.

Level 2, 'Warm-up'. Easy Gyms that offer a small challenge. Suggested for starting Trainers. 3 Points.

Level 3, 'Easy'. Easy Gyms that offer a decent challenge. Suggested for novice Trainers. 5 Points.

Level 4, 'Challenging'. Intermediate Gyms that offer a challenge. Suggested for novice Trainers. 12 Points.

Level 5, 'Tough'. Intermediate Gyms that offer a good challenge. Suggested for decent Trainers. 18 Points.

Level 6, 'Hard'. Advanced Gyms that offer a great challenge. Suggested for decent Trainers. 25 Points.

Level 7, 'Expert.' Advanced Gyms that offer a huge challenge. Suggested for experienced Trainers. 35 Points.

Level 8, 'Master'. Expert Gyms that offer an incredible challenge. Suggested for excellent Trainers. 50 Points.

To qualify for the League, you need 150 Badge Points. Notice that, unlike the anime or game versions, in this story there are much more than eight Gyms, spread throughout desolate regions and secret spots.

Hope that explained a few things. If needed, I'll post some more information about the PLA Gym Rating in the same this very same way.

Until then, have a pleasant time and don't forget to R&R!

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	12. Sea, Seed, and Seedot

Hello there, readers!

Well, let's begin with the basics: apologies.

Firstly, sorry 'bout the delay. I had wanted to have a double chapter _yesterday_, but I was kinda out of ideas, so... yeah.

Secondly, not only is it late, but this chapter is _the_ smallest chapter so far. I wanted to end on a cliffhanger, so... yeah.

Lastly, the title is somewhat misleading, 'cause there is absolutely no sea in this chapter. Heck, there isn't even a single mention to any kind of water whatsoever! But it sounded nice, and it rhymed, so... yeah.

Once more, I apologize for all of that. Now that that's out of the way...

Enjoy Chapter 11!

* * *

_**Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter 11: Sea, Seed, and Seedot**

As the group made its way through the dirt road, each member was silent, lost in his or her thoughts. The little clouds that had been gathering nearby had mysteriously disappeared, leaving only clear blue sky. Shining overhead was the bright Hoennian sun, casting its warm and welcomed rays upon the earth beneath its ever-burning gases. The trees bordering the road stood tall and proud, the long grass around them shuffling lightly in the wind.

All this peace and calm as interrupted when Jake tripped on his shoes and fell headfirst onto the rough ground. He got up, spitting out quite a lot of dirt, and saw Brendan suspiciously whistling. A little chase ensued, and Brendan was left limping slightly.

May and Sara talked to each other, mostly about pointless things like shopping and different dressing styles. May was absolutely shocked to hear that Sara knew very little about the subject, and was now trying to teach the smaller girl everything she herself new. At that precise moment, she was introducing the many different sizes and types of skirts: mid-thigh length, thigh length, knee length, ankle length, full length (apparently, they were two different sizes), cut skirts, _long_-cut skirts…

After walking for a few hours, the group decided to stop in a convenient clearing to rest for a while ('the group' being May). As Brendan, Sara and May sat down on the ground, Jake stood up, listening attentively. Around him, all the Pokémon that had been released watched him quizzically.

"What is it?" Sara asked, immediately scared. After all the recent encounters she had had, she was becoming slightly paranoid.

"Humn? What?" Jake replied, looking back at the girl. He seemed to have lost focus of things around him for a while. "Oh, it's nothing to worry about. Just heard some wild Pokémon around. Think I'll catch one. After all, you've all gotten one recently, and I wouldn't want to lag behind."

"Scorch's probably the strongest Pokémon we have now, though." Brendan commented. "Maybe Mudkip can beat him, but it's only 'cause he's got a type advantage."

"You're just trying to convince me not to get another Pokémon so I can't kick your behind." Jake shot back. "Hear this, my dear friend: You're going downtown! Let's go, Scorch. Time for another challenge."

He walked out of the camp, Scorch on his trail. Sara seemed a bit relieved, and May rolled her eyes. The other Pokémon began to chat once more. Looking over to Brendan, May saw that the boy had a pouting look on his face, completed with crossed arms. Noticing the girl's stare, he turned around to face her.

"That's not true. Not true!" the boy said, sounding like a baby. Sara giggled and May rolled her eyes. "I'm serious!"

"Boys…" May and Sara muttered at the same, looked at each other and laughed.

--XXXXX--

"**Well, hello there, darlings!"** Wingull said gallantly to Torchic and Ralts, doing something that seemed like bowing. However, since his body was way less than an inch from the ground, it was hard to say for sure. **"I think that two stars just fell down to Earth, because I see them in front of my eyes at this very moment!"**

"**Uhm… what?" **Ralts asked, sounding confused and flattered. Though no one noticed, her normally green horn began to slightly shine pink.

"**Are you two free tonight?"** the seagull continued. **"I have a friend in these parts, and he would very much appreciate the sight of two beautiful damsels!"**

"**Oh, get lost!"** Torchic shot back in a hostile tone.

"**How can I **_**not**_** get lost in your endless beauty?"**

"**Hey! She told you to get lost!"** Mudkip said, stepping in. Everyone looked at him awkwardly with 'you don't belong here' expressions. **"What!?"**

"**I'm sorry, my friend, but I cannot see how this is any of your business. So, scramble."** Wingull replied, flapping one of his wing in a 'go away' way. With the other, he pointed towards Torchic and Ralts. **"This is between me, Beautiful Lady and Hot-Headed Beauty."**

"**Who are you calling 'Hot-Headed', you freaking piece of birdic poop!?"** the Fire type shot back, on the verge of attacking the bird.  
**  
"And who are you calling 'Beauty'?" **teased Mudkip. **"Plus, 'birdic' isn't even a word!"**

**"HEY! Who's side are you on, blob-ball!?"**

**"FOR THE LAST TIME, I'M NOT A BLOB-BALL!"**

**"Step away from the beautiful damsel, you overgrown puppy!" **Wingull shouted, stepping in.  
**  
"Dude, the bro isn't, like, you know, overgrown, dude. If something, he's like, **_**undergrown**_**, man. Right, dude?" **Zigzy said to Wingull. The bird stared back at him with a confused, hurt, disgusted, shocked, and frightened expression all at once. Zigzy stepped backwards like as if he had been physically hit, shocked by the emotion of stare.

"**Urgh…"** groaned Ralts. Her horn was glowing like a rainbow, but much more subtly. The Feeling Pokémon hugged her head. **"All this emotions… it's just… BEAUTIFUL! So alive, so many different feelings! I feel so happy!"**

"**Step away from my darling!" **shouted Wingull.

"**I'M NOT YOUR DARLING! TELL HIM, BLOB-BALL!" **Torchic shouted back.

"**I'M NOT A BLOB-BALL! AND WHY SHOULD I TELL HIM!?" **Mudkip added to the flying shouts.

"**So many feelings!"** Ralts yelled as she span around maniacally.

"**Dude…"** Zigzy said, over-watching the absolute chaos in front of him. **"Cool!"**

--XXXXX--

"Almost there, Scorch…" Jake whispered to his faithful Charmander as the two walked around the forest. Sure enough, they reached a small clearing, and inside stood a lone Seedot. In an almost paranoiac way, the boy frantically looked around for a large tree, and let out a sigh of relieve when he found none. Then, he nodded to Scorch, and the Fire type stepped forward.

"_A Seedot, huh?"_ Jake thought. _"Ah, so many memories… anyway, Scorch shouldn't have a problem dealing with it, seeing as he's a Fire type and Seedot's a Grass type…"_

"Scorch, let's heat things up with an Ember attack!" the boy ordered.

The Charmander complied and shot white-hot embers at the Seedot. The Acorn Pokémon squealed in shock and fear at the recent events, then tried to throw itself out of the way of the attack. It was too slow, though, and ended up with a glancing burn. The Grass type squealed in pain, then set its eyes on Charmander. However, it did nothing else. Hearing his trainer shout more orders, Scorch shot another Ember attack at the Seedot, scoring a direct hit. The enduring Pokémon groaned, but was still up and about when the attack ceased. Frustrated, Scorch came in close with a Metal Claw, with another direct hit. The Seedot flew through the air and few heavily on the ground.

Surprisingly, it still managed to get up, and shot a colossal beam of power back at the Charmander. While it flew through the air, the beam took on the shape of a huge iron fist coated in fire. Scorch tried to dodge the attack, but the latter was extremely fast, and scored a powerful hit. Jake flinched when he heard the loud impact, his eyes went wide when he saw Scorch fly through the air, and he flinched again when the Charmander hit a tree with shattering force.

The Fire type struggled to stand up again, but succeeded. He looked at the Seedot, who was snickering at him. Scorch felt his blood begin to boil with rage, and felt a wave of heat wash over him. His trainer shouted more orders, and the Charmander used another Ember attack. However, this attack came out much stronger than before, with the embers being much bigger and more. The Seedot's grin vanished at once, and it desperately turned tail and ran. The attack caught him almost instantly, severely burning the Pokémon. No longer strong enough to move on, the Grass type collapsed. Jake grinned and threw a Pokéball at him.

As soon as the ball hit, the Seedot dematerialized into red light and was sucked inside the object. The Pokéball shook for a few moments, but soon become still and locked shut. Jake collected the ball and clipped it to his belt, then congratulated Scorch and recalled him for a nice, long rest.

After that ordeal was over, the boy turned around and headed back to camp, satisfied.

--XXXXX--

"And then, we got on this clearing, and down there was a green dragon tied up…"

May and Sara were informing Brendan of the events they had been through two days

before. They would have talked earlier, but May was still somewhat pissed off at the boy for the prank he had pulled on them and had thoroughly refused to tell even a single word about it. Sara hadn't wanted to betray her best friend, so she kept her silence as well. But now, May had apparently cooled down enough.

The trio was seated under the protective shadow of the trees bordering the clearing. In the center, the Pokémon were having some sort of argument, but no one really cared. Sara was lying on the ground, watching the clouds, Brendan sitting against a trunk, and May was sitting cross-legged on the grass. It was her that was talking at the moment.

"Wait, green dragon?" Brendan interrupted, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "A Flygon, maybe?"

"No… Jake said something like 'Salad Dance' or something…" May replied, slightly annoyed. "Can I go on?"

"Not just yet. 'Salad Dance', huh? What could that have been… humn…"

"I think Jake said 'Salamence'." Sara corrected. "Something about a 'shiny Salamence'. And he was pretty outraged about it."

"WHAT!?" Brendan shouted, springing to his feet with lighting speed. "You got to see a _shiny Salamence!?_ That's like, my dream!"

"Well, too bad." May said, now definitely annoyed. "Can I _please_ go back to the story now!?"

"Wait a second. You actually saw a _shiny Salamence?_ Oh, man! That's so unfair! That's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

"If you wanted so much to see it, you should have came with us!" May shouted, frustrated.

"I couldn't! I had to stay at the Pokémon Center, almost killing myself just so I would have something to do! And guess whose fault is that!?" Brendan shouted back. May opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, as if to say something, but no sound came out. Then, the girl hugged her knees and rocketed back and forth lightly, muttering an apology.

"Brendan!" Sara chastised, going over to May. "That was just mean! Apologize to May right now!"

"Why should I!? It's only the truth!"

"You know she didn't mean it! Now apologize!"

"Fine! Sorry! Are you girls happy now!? Jeez!"

"C'mon May… you know he didn't mean it…" Sara comforted May, sitting by the girl's side.

"Yes I did!" Brendan interrupted on the background. No one gave him any attention.

"He's just a big idiot…" Sara continued, ignoring the boy. "You know that. You've been travelling around with him for longer than I have…"

May let out a short laugh, then got up and hugged Sara. "Yeah, I guess I should've learned that by now, huh? Thanks, Sara."

"Anytime."

On the background, Brendan puffed, then muttered, "Girls…"

--XXXXX--

"**So, dudes, it's like, settled, right?"**Zigzy asked to the mass of faces in front of him.

He looked at the angry faces of Mudkip, Torchic, and Wingull. The discussion they had had previously had broken out into a borderline war, but luckily it was stopped by Ralts' Confusion attack. Apparently, the Feeling Pokémon was so filled with feelings she became extremely weird, freezing everyone in place with a her Confusion attack before smashing her head against the ground several times and fainting. Zigzy had just naturally taken that unexpected event to try and calm the enraged Pokémon down. His proposition: a three-mile-long race to a nearby clearing he knew and back.

Actually, no one had any idea of precisely how long it actually was. Wingull, being a Flying type, had (or at least _should_ have) the innate ability to accurately measure distances and locate where North was, but he was so caught up in a verbal war with Mudkip and Torchic to do any scouting, so Zigzy had guessed about three miles. The raccoon suspected it would take a good deal longer, since he had just made the clearing up, but he decided that it would be best for everyone (him specially) if he just didn't talk any more than needed.

And the prizes varied. If Wingull won, Torchic and Ralts had to go accompany him on his date (since Ralts was unconscious, it was just natural that the others made the choice for her); if Mudkip won, Torchic would stop calling him a 'Blob-Ball' and Wingull would stop annoying everyone; and if Torchic won, she could still call Mudkip 'Blob-Ball', and Wingull had to, in her exact words, "Go hide to a dark corner and die!".

"**Dudes, remember: Run straight ahead 'till you reached the cool clearing with some freaking awesome fruits,"** Zigzy was saying. **"Then, you dudes should turn around and run back here, **_**capito?**_** Go rock the world, dudes!"**

At his last word, Mudkip, Torchic and Wingull charged ahead. The bird seemed so focused on racing that he forgot he could fly, and as a result he was painfully dragging himself across the ground as the other two competitors vanished in the luxurious undergrowth surrounding the trees. It took him several moments to realize his mistake, but he finally did so, and flapped his wings hard against the still, cold air. A few moments later, he was souring through the skies.

"**Ahh, another job well done!"** Zigzy congratulated himself. **"Those guys won't be back in a while**_**.**_**"** Suddenly, he yawned. **"Humn, guess I'm tired. Where's my little trainer and her divine hands? I really could use some scratching right now…"** He looked around for May, quickly spotting her sitting cross-legged near a tree with the Funny-Smelling Weird Boy and the Smaller-Than-My-Trainer Girl. The raccoon briefly wondered where the Mean Pokémon-Aggressor Punk was, but then remembered he had left with Scorch, presumably to aggress some innocent Pokémon.

--XXXXX--

"And that pretty much sums up the essence of it." May said. Zigzy subtly sneaked in and sat by on the girl's lap, and the girl began to automatically scratch him behind the ears. "It may seem complicate, but it's actually quite simple. Right?" She looked around. Sara had a deeply troubled look on her face, while Brendan looked almost terrified. "What!?"

"Never, _ever_, do that again!" the boy screamed, hugging his knees and rocketing to and fro. "I just spent the last ten minutes listening to you talk about_ shoes_! Do you have _any_ idea of how _painful_ that was!? DO YOU!?"

"Oh, shut up, you big baby!" May shot back, not for the first time annoyed at the boy. She then turned to Sara. "It wasn't _that _bad, was it?"

"May…" Sara began rather awkwardly. "I'm really sorry, but I don't know what to say..." Her voice piped down to a mumble. "Without being offensive, at least…" The girl then cleared her throat and began to speak normally again. "It was… _interesting…_ to say the least."

"Hmph…" May pouted, crossing her arms. Zigzy let out a small cry when the girl stop scratching him, but then curled up in her lap and seemingly fell asleep. "Jerks…"

There was a small moment of silence, broken only by the soft rustle of the grass and leaves, and by the ever-rocketing Brendan.

"Uhm... _soooo…_" Sara said awkwardly, trying to start up another conversation. "Flowers. Pretty things, no?" There was no response. "Yeah, I didn't think so either… what about Pokémon, then? Did you guys know that there is a beautiful Pokémon named Milotic? Pretty interesting, huh?" Zigzy yawned, but that was the only thing that happened. "Oh, come on! Food! Tourism! Sleeping bags! WHY WON'T YOU TALK!?"

"Jeez, Sara!" Brendan shouted, jumping to his feet and finally snapping back to the present. He was clearly surprised by the sudden burst of sound. "Fine, we'll talk! See? I'm talking. No need to shout…"

"Sorry…" Sara grumbled.

"It's okay." May said. The group then fell silent once more.

"Wow. D'you know that you guys are really pitiful without me?" came a new voice.

Everyone turned around to see Jake, walking through some nearby trees and into the clearing. The boy had a smirk in his face, and so had Scorch, walking by his trainer's side. The Charmander's grin however, was one of happiness, contrasting Jake's, a much more mocking one.

"Every time I leave and came back, I find you sitting around like a bunch of Psyduck! Don't you have anything better to do?" the boy continued.

"Hahaha." May laughed sarcastically. She was beginning to get used to the boy's unexpected appearances. "Don't _you_ have anything better to do than constantly annoy us?"

"Let me see…" Jake replied, rubbing his chin. "Wake up, check, brush teeth, check, catch wild Seedot, check… Nope, I got nothing."

"Hey!" Brendan interrupted, indignant. "I came up with that! It's _my_ line! You stole my line!"

"Like they say, stealers keepers looser weepers." the older boy replied calmly.

"Humn… I'm not quite sure that's how it goes…" Sara said.

"Whatever."

"Hey!" May interrupted, looking around. "Look at Scorch! He's behaving kinda weirdly…"

Sure enough, the Charmander was frantically looking around for something. He was so desperate he actually began to lift rocks on the ground and look underneath them.

"What's he doing?" Sara asked.

"Probably just went nuts again." Jake answered, shrugging. "Happens all the time."

"I don't think so…" Brendan argued. "Look. Normally, he runs around in circles, flapping his arms… but now, it looks as though he's searching for something."

At that moment, Scorch notice the group's gaze. He looked at the boys and girls and let out a sad "Cha!". It was then that something clicked on Brendan's head.

"HEY!" the boy shouted, causing everyone to look at him. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly and toned down his voice. "Where's the rest of the Pokémon?"

Everyone's eyes went wide at those words. May began to imitate Scorch, frantically looking around for the missing Pokémon, and Sara soon began to assist her. Jake hang a bit back, eyebrows frowned. Brendan rubbed his chin thoughtfully. But whatever they did, the problem persisted.

The Pokémon were missing.

* * *

Well, there it was. Not long, but (hopefully) enjoyable.

Once more, sorry for everything (if you missed it, there's a list of reasons on the top). Hope that didn't ruin your (non-existant) expectations for this story!

Chapter 12 should be out by Sunday 16th, but, knowing myself, be ready for it by Wednesday 19th.

On a separate note: Yay! Almost three hundred hits to the story (using the Reader Traffic thing; the Story Status says I have around 335)! Thank you all so much!

On a different separate note: Yay! With this chapter, the story breaks the 50'000 word mark! _IN ONE MONTH!_ Wo-hoo!

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	13. A Sea of Shimmering Shivers

So, we meet once more, readers...

Sorry 'bout the delay. I had some writers block and not much inspiration (which are pretty mcuh the same thing), so... yeah. Consequently, this chapter is really short, breaking any previous records with mere 2,700 words (approximately).

As short and uneventful as it is, I like it. It's light, quick and easy to read. Plus, I like the ending. But you won't figure out until later, willya?

* * *

_**Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter 12: A Sea of Shimmering Shivers**

As darkness fell over the Hoenn region, the group of travelers set up camp in a clearing in the middle of the woods that bordered Route 104. Jake and Brendan were covered in something that was hopefully mud, Sara's knees and hands were dirty, and May was mostly clean, but covered in small cuts and scrapes. They all sat around the campfire, with a seven Pokémon around them.

Most of the Pokémon did not seem very happy. They had been forced to set up camp on their own as a punishment for recent events, and they were now grumbling between themselves about it. Coincidentally, their trainers were talking about the same thing at the same time.

"On top of a tree. _Of a tree!_" May shouted, angry. "How the _hell_ did Torchic get up there? She doesn't even have arms!"

"Personally, I'm more worried about how Mudkip and Wingull managed to get stuck inside a fist-sized hole, _fainted_." Brendan said. "How they even fitted inside it is _way_ beyond me."

"I wonder how Ralts got hit in the head like that…" Sara whispered, looking over at her only Pokémon with a worried expression on her face. The Ralts' face and horn was comically covered in bandages. "I looks like she fell or something, but…"

"You guys have now officially crossed the line from 'Merely weird' to 'What the hell?'. Congratulations." Jake said, bowing. "It takes a long time and arduous training to achieve that."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Brendan shot back. "I want to see _your_ Pokémon get into a fist-sized hole, climb a tree without having arms or mysteriously develop bruises on their heads!"

"Ha! That's where you're wrong, my dear friend!" Jake laughed. "If you remember the things your father oh-so kindly taught you, you should recall that Seedot are known to hang on trees, absorbing moisture and such. Do you see any arms in my Seedot?"

"Humn…" Brendan replied, blinking in surprise. "Damn, didn't see that coming."

"They never do. Now, if you excuse me, I must catch some shut-eye. We lost a lot of time today, and we'll have to hurry on to catch up."

With those words, Jake got up, did an over-dramatic bow, and left towards his sleeping bag. He was fast asleep in seconds, with Scorch and Seedot nearby. May puffed a bit at his exit, then turned to Sara and whispered something at the girl's ear. The two giggled a bit.

"What?" Brendan asked them, curious.

"Never mind. Girl stuff." May answered dismissively. "You wouldn't be interested in the least… _dude._" She winked at Sara, and the two giggled a bit more.

"What? Seriously, answer me!"

"It's getting late. Go to sleep, Breny." Sara said. Everyone looked at her, surprised by the use of the nickname. Realizing the intimacy she had used, Sara blushed and looked at the ground. Brendan rolled his eyes.

"Girls…" he muttered, sighing. "Can't live without them, dead man with 'em."

--XXXXX--

The group was up and running before the break of dawn. Literally. Apparently, they had slept near a Poochyena territory, and had barely managed to escape from a group of enraged Mightyena with their lives. But, after twenty minutes of desperate running, they succeeded, and it saved them a good time on the road.

As good as it was for their travel, it certainly was bad for their mood. Waking up before dawn to run away from raving wolves is _not_ the way one would like to wake up. Everyone (but specially Brendan and May) was grumpy. After merely an hour of walking, May did a huge scene in order to convince the others to stop and rest, which ended in a forty-five minute pause and an early breakfast before resuming the long walk.

It was almost noon before the group once more stopped. They were tired from their rude awakening and from the countless battles they had on the road against passing trainers (most of which they won), so there was little objection. May, as usual, offered to cook lunch. Lately, she had been honing her culinary skills, and her cooking was actually good. Even Brendan accepted (after a long, heated, intense and somewhat random argument) to taste the food, but as the boy had to preserve a minimum of dignity, he didn't eat much. Jake and Sara ate happily, while May barely touched her food until she was absolutely sure the others liked it. Strangely, even with the late start, she was the first to finish by a mile.

After their feet were rested, their bellies were filled and Brendan had finished chatting about his dream of building the Chatot Utopia, the four travelers began to… well, travel. It was not long after dawn when they reached the first interesting point of the day.

It all happened when Brendan, checking something on Jake's map after the bigger boy had thrown it on the ground and sworn never to ever set his gaze upon it again, had smiled mischievously and began to run ahead.

"Brendan! What the hell!?" May shouted, running after him.

"You'll see soon enough!" Brendan replied, speeding up slightly. "And you can thank me then!"

"Hey! Wait for us!" Sara called, running ahead as well.

"People… They get worse by the passing day." Jake muttered, jogging along as well.

After some good six minutes and forty-nine seconds of running, Brendan finally stopped, panting heavily. He was now in the middle of a road that was nearly identical to where they had begun. The boy shot a confused glance around, checked something on the map, and shot another confused glance around.

"Bren… dan!" May shouted, enraged, as soon as she reached the boy. She doubled over, hands on her knees, in order to catch her breath. "What… the… hell!?"

"We were supposed to have reached it by now…" Brendan muttered to himself, confused, as he once more looked at the map. The boy proceeded to turn it around countless times, but that didn't help at the least. "Weird…"

"Brendan!" May shouted again, now mostly recovered. And angry. "Care to explain why you… just broke into a run like… that, to lead us… _here_!?"

"Humn…" Brendan gulped, scared for his life. "I thought… the map… blargh…"

The girl slowly, threateningly, approached him, cracking her knuckles. "Is that all you have to say… in your defense?"

"But… but… map… blargh…"

"Urgh! You're just so… annoying!" May shouted, raising her fist. She considered hitting him on the face, but she quickly dismissed the idea. She did not want to go through that road again. So, instead, she punched Brendan on the arm. And hard.

"Ow!" the boy screamed, grabbing his arm in an over-exaggerated way. "My arm! You broke my arm! Ahh!"

"Suck it up, big baby!"

"You're mean!" Brendan shouted with a baby voice, sniffing. "I want my mommy!" After those words were said, the boy's jaw tightened and it's owner became immediately serious. He shook his head, then turned back to the path and resumed walking without a word.

May stood still, surprised by the sudden change. She remembered Brendan, on the day they first met, saying his mother had gone away, but just maybe that meant…

"_I'll have to ask Jake later today…"_ the girl thought, looking worriedly at Brendan's distancing back. _"He's bound to know something about this. I wish I could ask Brendan directly, but he's obviously not comfortable talking about it…"_

The girl shook her head and raced after Brendan. For some reason, she had the weird feeling that she was forgetting something, but she shook it away. It was probably just a random feeling.

--XXXXX--

"I… can't… run… anymore!" Sara shouted, panting heavily and letting herself fall to the ground. She landed on her behind with a soft 'Thump', the laid down in order to waste as little energy as possible. "How… can… you… guys… still… run?"

"No offense, but we're all older than you." Jake noted, raising an eyebrow at the girl. "C'mon. If we stay here and rest, we'll never find those two again."

"It's a straight road!" Sara shot back, sitting up. "How difficult… can it be… to find them again?"

"Knowing Brendan, I'm willing to bet he's lost right now. And knowing May, I'm willing to bet he's in pain."

"...Well, can't argue with that, huh?"

"Ready now?"

"Yeah." Sara said as she got up. "Let's go."

The two resumed their jogging down the road.

--XXXXX--

"Au. Au. Au. Au. Au."

"Stop it!"

"Au. Au. Au. Au. Au."

"I'm warning you!"

"Au. Au. Au."

"BRENDAN!"

Brendan and May were still walking down the road, oblivious to the fact that half of the group was missing. Currently, May was walking ahead, with Brendan behind her. The boy was still clutching his arm like if it was broken, even though it was quite obvious that it wasn't. For every step he took, the boy let out an 'Au', more to annoy May than anything else. And it was clearly working, although if that was a good thing was not so clear.

"Au. Au. Au. Au." Brendan continued, albeit at a (much) lower tone.

"I swear to Mew, if you don't stop that _right this instant_, I will grind each and every one of your bones to dust!" May threatened, fighting the appealing urge to actually to that right there and then. "And I'm not kidding!"

"See? That just took away any credibility you had." Brendan shot back. "Do you see any villains in the movies saying 'And I'm not kidding' after their threats? No! Because that just ruins everything."

"Brendan…" May growled, ready to pummel the boy to a bloody pulp. "You have three seconds to run."

"What are you gonna do, huh?"

"One…"

"What? I'm serious, May. I'm worried."

"Two…"

"Please don't hurt me!"

"THREE!"

"AHH!"

May lunged at Brendan, but the boy managed to turn around and burst into running right on time to escape her grasp. The girl wasn't about to give up just yet, though, and began to hunt the boy down the road they had just came from.

They had been running for no more than a minute when they reached an abrupt turn. Brendan, still being alive and consequently ahead, turned first, vanishing from May's sight for a second. The girl heard him scream just as she turned the corner herself. Unable to stop on such a short notice, the girl collided with a hard object, sending both tumbling down several feet.

May felt rather than saw someone rush to her side and lay her down in the grass. It took a few moments for the girl to recover enough to look around, but when she did, she promptly sat up. A wave of dizziness and slight nausea washed over her, making her regret her decision. She tried to focus on her surroundings, and soon enough things became clearer.

Sara was by her side, a worried expression on her side. Behind her, Brendan was helping Jake to his feet. The boy (Jake) seemed to be as dizzy as May. It took a moment for May's brain to put the pieces together and realize she had, quite literally, run into Jake.

"May! You okay?" Sara asked her, worried. "That was a pretty nasty hit…"

"What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine." May answered, still dizzy. To Jake, she shouted, "HEY! What's the big idea!?"

"Excuse me?" Jake shot back, incredulous. "You're the one that_ rammed_ into me!"

"Hmph…" the red-clad girl buffed, crossing her arms.

"Urgh…" Jake groaned, getting back up. It took him a moment to recover his balance, but he eventually succeeded. "Brendan, care to explain why did you take off like that?"

"I blame your stupid map!" Brendan replied, shaking the said object in the older boy's face. "It says here we were supposed to have reached the sea about twenty minutes ago!"

"I _know_. Why do you thing I threw it on the ground to begin with? It's a useless map."

"Then why don't you buy a new one!?"

"Guys!" Sara screamed, interrupting the argument. The boys looked at her, then at each other, then puffed, then looked away. May rolled her eyes.

"C'mon." the red-clad girl said, now (mostly) recovered. "Let's keep on moving. We're bound to reach the sea soon enough, right?"

Brendan shot the girl a weird look. "Since when did you became so… rational? And while we're at it, since when are you ever right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Uhm… nothing?"

"Let's just go…"

The girl walked away towards the corner on which she had oh-so tragically run into Jake without looking back. Brendan quickly followed her, leaving Jake and Sara once more alone. The girl shot the boy an unsure look, to which the latter replied with a shrug and followed the two.

And so, the group began their newest journey towards the sea.

--XXXXX--

The boy stood on the huge mountain, surrounded on all sides by sea. He looked no older than seventeen, powerfully built, with short, spiky blond hair. He was dressed in white cloth pants and long-sleeved shirt with designs weaved in golden thread, completed with golden finger-less gloves and a golden cloak that would have put the richest king to shame.

As he looked over the edge of the cliff he was standing nearby, his face broke into a smile. By his side stood a majestic Absol, his white fur sparkling under the bright sun. The boy looked at his loyal friend with his eyes, one clear blue and another golden. The creature looked back at him, both sharing more words with that look than men said on a lifetime.

They were back.

* * *

I really like that ending. You guys won't find out who the mystery guy was until much later into the story, but it was nice putting him here. I wanted to make him seem like a handsome, kind, rich, gold-obsessed freak. How did it go?

So, now I must bid you farewell. Until chapter 13 (don't wait up)!

Gotta Go With The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


	14. Arrivals, Friends, and Enemies

'Zup, readers?

So, after a _loooong_ time, the 14th chapter (including the Halloween Special) is finally out. I know it took a while, and I apologize for it. But (hopefully) the next one will be out sooner. If I can, I'll have it out by Sunday. If not... well, as soon as possible, then.

And now, I wouldn't want to stall you any longer, would I? Well then, go ahead!

* * *

_**Less than Legends, More than Myths**_

**Chapter 13: Arrivals, Friends, And Enemies**

"Finally!" Brendan shouted just as the group reached the top of yet another hill.

Around him, May and Sara gasped, and Jake's face broke into a smile. In front of them, the hill swooped down gently for no more than a mile before become perfectly flat before turning to the right towards a huge forest. Bordering it after its turn was a small cliff, than sand, before reaching the sea. The beach wasn't very big, with no more than half a mile in length and thirty feet in width, but it was clean. The sea opened in front of it, wide and majestic, reaching far over the horizon.

There was a few umbrellas here and there, with some people under them. There were also a few on the water, dressed with swimming clothes. Built against the cliff were two changing rooms, built with yellow bricks and an orange roof. Up the cliff, almost all the way to the forest, there was a few small huts, no more than a dozen. A charming little village.

"Wow…" May whispered softly, amazed at the sight in front of her. She giggled in excitement. "I can't wait to get down there and take a swim! It's been _forever_ since I've been on the sea!"

"Yeah." Brendan said, looking at the sea. "Makes you feel kinda small, doesn't it? Who are we puny humans compared to the size of the sea? Even our greatest city is no more than a single drop in that water…"

"Deep." Jake noted, nodding. He took a deep breath. "Last time I went to the sea, I ended up almost drowning after being attacked by a flock of enraged Wingull." He began to rub his left arm, between the shoulder and elbow, without thinking about it. "But I reckon it's quite a nice place."

There was a small moment of silence, then everyone turned to Sara. The girl looked at the anxious stares, then at the ground, touching her index fingers against one another.

"Actually… I don't really know how to swim…" she said shyly. "I never really learned…"

"WHAT!?" May shouted, unable to contain herself. Noticing her outburst, the girl quickly piped down her voice. "Didn't you have any childhood? How can you _not_ know how to swim?"

"I guess I never really cared…" Sara muttered in reply, still looking at the ground. "There wasn't any sea near my… where I lived, or any pools, so I never thought it was important…"

There was another moment of silence, but this time is was more awkward. Everyone was doing different things. Brendan was struggling against himself not to say a sarcastic and probably rude remark, May was unsure of what to say, and Jake… he was feeling too lazy to actually go through the bothers of speaking. The four just stood there, atop the hill, watching the swift, almost unnoticeable from the distance, waves in the ocean. Finally, May took a deep breath and spoke up.

"No matter." the girl said cheerfully. "We'll teach you everything you need to know about swimming, from moving around to all that scientific buoyancy crap! Everything from top to bottom."

"That doesn't even make sense…" Brendan said. "And sorry, but you speak for yourself. I have some… old acquaintances… around that I would very much like to visit." Jake snorted subtly, and the white-haired boy blushed a bit. Luckily, none of the girls noticed.

"How can you say that?" May shot at him, a tad annoyed. "We're her friends! It's only normal that we should teach her when she needs it! You can go there later!"

"Oh, so you're saying I should ignore my… old friends, and just go along with you?"

"YES!"

"You're crazy, d'you know that!? Cuccu in the head!"

"May, it's okay. I don't mind…" Sara said, trying to stop the incipient argument.

"You stay out of this!" both Brendan and May shouted at her, causing the smaller girl to step back.

"Do you even have the slightest idea of what 'buoyancy' means?" Brendan asked skeptically.

"Not really… and I bet no one here knows either… so we'll just have to ask someone down there!" May replied, evil thoughts racing through her head.

Brendan grunted in the effort of resisting commenting on how someone would feel if a bunch of kids just came along and asked about buoyancy, instead focusing on continuing the fight and, of course, showing off. "As a matter of fact, _I_ have a pretty neat idea about it."

"Oh, really? I mean, it's pretty hard stuff about how things float, isn't it? It takes someone pretty smart to figure it out…"

"Of course I know! It's the rules of physics when it comes to floatability, about how an object floats on top of water if it moves a mass of water greater than it's volume!"

"Wow! You _do _know! You're smart!"

"I know I'm very smart, you don't need to repeat it…"

"But you are! In fact, I bet that for someone so smart as you, it'd be no trouble to teach this to someone, would it?"

"'Course not! It'd be a piece of cake!"

"Then you would mind doing it, would you? With your brains, it would only take a minute!"

"Just show me the person and I'll do it! It's no cha-" Brendan began, but then stopped when he realized he had been fooled by May and his own pride. "Dammit, May! That was cheap!"

"'Course it was." the said girl replied with a devilish grin. "Seriously, wha'd'you expect?"

"I'm not gonna teach her."

"You just said you would, so you will!"

"That wasn't fair! Tell her, Jake! Jake? Jake!"

The boy began to look around for his friend, but found none. He was now alone with May and Sara atop the hill. The former noticed Jake was gone as well, and looked around curiously.

"Hey, what happened to Jake?" she asked.

"He took off a minute ago." Sara explained, pointing down the road. "He said, 'If you excuse me, I have some… meetings… I'd like to organize.' then took off running down the hill."

The two recently-informed people looked to where the girl was pointing, and sure enough, there was Jake, quickly jogging down the hill. Brendan turned to Sara, who blushed a bit, but managed to hold her gaze, then to May, who was still grinning like the devil she was. Then, he must have realized something, for his eyes grew wide and he turned back to the hill, and shouted on the top of his lungs. "DAMN YOU, JAAAKE!"

--XXXXX--

"Okay, so let's see…" the twelve-year-old said out loud to himself, walking on the border of the cliff that fell onto the beach. "Julie's house, Julie's house… It was the… third? No, fourth… how did that go?" He began to sing in a low voice. "Three steps of Slowpoke, then five of Slowbro, three steps of Slowpoke, 'till you reach the flow… One left and one right, just a pretty sight, then through, through you go, 'till you reach the flow…"

He quickly walked past the beach towards the houses. There were two roads that passed through the village, making a cross at the center, and all the house were facing them. The boy quickly reached it an walked to the main square, where the roads met and there was a small fountain. He searched the latter for a drawing of a Slowpoke on the rough stone, smiling at the memories it brought back to his mind…

**Flashback…**

"There!" said the blond girl with a the frilly pink and yellow dress, getting up from the ground and dusting her knees. She looked no older than six or seven years old. She smiled at the impressive drawing of a Slowpoke she had just carved into the fountain.

"You sure that works?" asked the small, white-haired boy. He, too, looked about seven years old.

"Yep! Now you always know how to come to my homey!" the girl replied in a painfully sweet and cheerful voice and hugging the boy. The latter blushed a bit, but it went by unnoticed by the girl.

"Cool." a third boy said, watching the two with a grin on his face. He was taller than the others, with spiky brown hair. He was also older, looking about a bit under ten, although he was actually eight. "So, how did it go exactly?"

"Simple!" the girl said again, pointing at the drawing. "You just see ol' Pokey Pokey here, then follow the song I teached you!"

"Taught." corrected the older boy, smiling disturbingly. "And how did that_ one go?"_

"Y-you don't remember?" the girl asked, eyes wide, stupefied. She sniffed a bit and looked as if she was about to cry. The white-haired boy's eyes grew wide, and he looked uncertain of what to do. The older boy shot him a meaningful look, and then it hit him.

"Three steps of Slowpoke, then five of Slowbro, three steps of Slowpoke, 'till you reach the flow…" the boy sang soothingly, hugging the girl and slowly rocketing her to and fro. "One left and one right, just a pretty sight, then through, through you go, 'till you reach the flow…"

"Oh, Breny, you remember!" the girl shouted as she hugged the boy tightly. "You're not like Jake-y!"

_Jake, the big boy, flinched. "Why, why, _why_, do you always put a 'y' on the end of every name?"_

"I think it's cute-y!" the girl said, showing her tongue to him.

"Kids! Time for lunch!" called an woman, coming down from one of the roads.

"Coming, Momy!" the girl shouted back. Then, she turned to the boys. "Last one there gets to clean Pokey Pokey's teeth!" And she shot down the road, the boy's on her heels.

**End Flashback**

Jake snapped back to his to the present, still looking at the drawing. Around him, there were only two people, a couple of tourists dressed in swimming suits. He took a deep breath, then looked at the road down from his point of view.

He walked down the road, crossing the village in no time. After a few steps, he was already near the edge of the cliff, with a short 10-feet fall to the sea below. He looked around, seeing the beauty of the wide ocean surrounding him, and on a little shore that could only be found by going down the cliff, a house. The boy had a quick search, and found a path down the cliff. In no time, he was approaching the door. He raised his hand to knock…

--XXXXX--

May smiled and laughed evilly, taking great delight in the evil things she was doing. Not only had she tricked Brendan into helping her teach Sara how to swim, but she had managed to disappear at the beginning of the lesson without trace, leaving Brendan alone to do the job. She had justified it to herself: It wouldn't hurt for Brendan to swim around for a bit. Still, when she thought about it, she felt a pang of jealousy towards Sara.

Shaking her heads to clear away those insane and unhealthy thoughts, she approached the fountain in the middle square of the little village. Only a pair of tourists dressed in swimming suits were there, walking around slowly as if to absorb every detail of the place. Since May couldn't go back to the beach without being seen by Brendan and Sara, she had decided to examine the surroundings. This seemed like a nice place; the girl would never, _ever_ live there on her free will, but she could enjoy some minutes of sightseeing around.

When she was near the fountain, she noticed something odd in the base. Kneeling down on the ground to have a better view, she examined what seemed to be an old engraving of a Slowpoke. Next to it stood some old but conveniently still readable markings. It took a while for May to figure them out, but they seemed something like this:

"Pokey Pokey pokes! Julie was here!  
**Tea and biscuits for all! Breny B. was here!  
**I'm not related to them in any way. Jake T."

There were three different calligraphies, one per line. When May read the second and third, her heart skipped a beat. Breny B. and Jake T., they said.

Brendan Birch and Jake... whatever his last name was.

--XXXXX--

"Ow!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I swear I didn't mean to do that again!"

Right at the precise exact moment that May had had that experience, Brendan had one himself. However, his was slightly less honorable, consisting in getting hit under the chin by a struggling Sara for the fourth time in two minutes.

Of course, the girl wasn't voluntarily hitting him. Their current exercise in, as Brendan had named it, _'Brendan's Theoretical and Somewhat Physical, But Mostly Mental and Psychological (Except on Mondays) Exercise and Activities Course' _consisted of try-out swimming. It was simple; Brendan and Sara went into the water, going only deep enough so it would reach Sara's shoulders (which, by itself, was extremely disturbing to the girl). Then, Brendan would hold her arms while she would try and beat her legs, with her head underwater.

It was supposed to be easy. It _was_ easy. But Sara just couldn't do it. Every time she tried, her arms slipped from Brendan grasp and ended up hitting him in the chin. Of course, Sara wasn't the only one to blame. Brendan's grasp really wasn't all that great. The boy was admittedly bored, and being 'forced' to help Sara learn how to swim wasn't helping. Neither was the fact that May had mysteriously disappeared. Sara remembered clearly Brendan's reaction, so many seconds before…

**Flashback…**

_"Where. Did. She. GO!?" Brendan shouted, en- and out-raged. "WHERE THE HELL DID THAT FORSAKEN… _DEMON_ GO!?"_

_"She said she was going to the bathroom…" Sara replied shyly, trying to ignore the odd stares that the few people around them were shooting._

_"And you_ fell_ for that!? We're in the middle of a beach! There isn't a bathroom for miles round!"_

_"…Sorry… I didn't think of that…"_

_"And now I'm stuck here with you_, alone_! That's even worse than with May! Although not by much."_

_"You're not_ forced_ to be here…" Sara muttered, trying to keep her voice normal. She had to admit that the boy's behavior was beginning to get to her. Why did he have to make such a scene, treating helping her out as if it was the worst thing in the entire universe? It was offensive, at the very least. "You can just go."_

_"It's utterly hopeless!" Brendan continued, completely ignoring her. He then began serious again, with no trace of his previous behavior whatsoever. "Well, might as well get this over with. C'mon, let's go take a swim."_

_Sara watched, absolutely shocked, as the boy calmly walked towards one of the two changing cabins/sand-removing showers, the only buildings other than the houses at a distance. Mood-swings was one thing. This was quite another._

**End Flashback.**

"Okay…" Brendan said, rubbing his chin and taking a deep breath. "Let's do this one more time, okay? And this time, I'll hold a tad tighter, and you'll try not to let go, okay?"

"Sure." Sara replied, trying to sound convinced. She failed.

"_Bon dieu…_" Brendan muttered, so low not even the girl could hear it. He then raised his voice. "Ready? Let's go."

Sara complied, grabbing the boy's arms and feeling him tighten the pressure. She quickly hid her face underwater to prevent the boy from seeing the huge blush creeping across her face. She then began to slowly beat her legs, alternating between them.

She managed to hold on for almost ten seconds, before she began to run out of breath. Her heart began to beat faster, and she instinctively began to beat her legs faster. It was then that her wet hands slipped, and somehow managed, even with the awkward angle, to slap Brendan across the cheek. The girl quickly let go and got back up to face the boy, who was looking at her with a stunned expression on his face.

"Sorrysorrysorrysorrysorry!" she screamed, unleashing upon him a torrent of apologies. "I swear I didn't mean to! Sorrysorrysorry!"

Brendan closed his eyes, took several deep breaths, opened them slightly, saw Sara, closed them again, took several more deep breaths, and then opened his eyes again. He looked around as if examining everything for the first time, then looked at Sara's confused stare, and ran away.

The girl stood motionless after it happened. One moment, she had just hit Brendan _again_. The other, the boy was running towards the shore like his life depended on it. After he got there, he didn't even slow down, but instead continued on his way towards the village, pushing people aside and leaping over logs and innocent swimmers resting after a long day of physical activity. Sara just watched him go, and in less than a minute the boy had vanished inside the mass of houses.

--XXXXX--

May stood motionless, looking at the drawing, for almost a minute. Then, she shook her head and dismissed it as 'Whatever' before taking a stroll around town. Since the entire town was no bigger than a small mansion, it didn't take long, and soon May was bored again. The only living thing besides her were two people dressed in swimming suits. From the way they were examining the town, the girl guessed they were tourists.

She sat on the fountain for a few minutes, trying to figure out something fun or at least entertaining to do. When, after a minute, nothing came to her mind, she hoped to her feet and began to pace around the square in circles.

It didn't help her train of thought, but it _did_ make her dizzy and somewhat nauseous, at least. Frustrated, the girl took a few deep breaths to calm herself. May really wasn't good at coping with boredom. Out of sheer desperation, she actually considered going back to the beach and helping Brendan out.

She was about to do just that when she saw none else than the famed white-haired boy running towards her. As soon as he saw May, his eyes went wide, and he began to shake with rage.

"YOU!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. May noticed with a certain relief that the two tourists from before had gone off to somewhere, so they were alone. "YOU FREAKING WITCH!"

"Oh, come on! It wasn't that bad, was it?" the girl shot back.

"You... have NO idea..." Brendan replied, taking several deep breaths.

"You were just helping Sara out! What could have happened?"

The white-haired boy was about to shoot a mean and ferocious reply when a scream cut the air. A scream of terror and desperation. A scream coming from a girl. A scream of fear and concern, filled with so many emotions that it froze the two bickering souls solid.

But even worse then the scream was the single word that it carried through the wind.

"JAKE!"

* * *

Another chapter, another cliffhanger. But it was lamer this time...

One way or another, thank you for reading. Not much else to say, except 'See ya next chapter!' and 'Don't forget to R&R!'.

Have a fine day/morning/noon/dusk/dawn/afternoon/night/nightfall or whatever!

Gotta Go WIth The Flow!  
BlackShadowKnight


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